The Arrival - Shaun Tan free essay sample

Shaun Tan Where the text came from The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images, it was illustrated by Shaun Tan in 2006. Purpose of text The fact that Shaun Tan grew up in Perth, he said was one of the main reasons for making so many novels based on the concept of belonging, he describe Perth as being one of the most isolated cities in the world, sandwiched between a vast desert and a vaster ocean, and they lived in a â€Å"freshly minted northern suburb that was devoid of any clear cultural identity or history†. Also, being half-Chinese, Tan was subject to racism and being consistently asked ‘where are you from’, he had a sense of separateness, and an unclear notion of identity and not understanding what it is to be ‘Australian’ or ‘un-Australian’. He has also talked about that the ‘problem’ of belonging is perhaps more of a basic existential question that everybody deals with time to time. It especially rises to the surface when things ‘go wrong’ with our usual lives, when something challenges our comfortable reality or defies our expectations. Tan has said this is what was going on in his mind when working on The Arrival, a book which deals with the theme of migrant experience, moving to a strange land, to a new life in an unseen country. Who would be the intended audience for the text? The target audience is immigrants who can relate to this book, although there is no particular audience as it can relate to everyone for the book questions every day experiences, with illustrations that draw people in so they can interpret it in their own ways based on their feelings, ideas and personal background and experiences. What it says about belonging The Arrival effectively conveys the feelings of isolation, belonging (and the desire to belong), the long process of integration and establishing a sense of familiarity, security and friends. The arrival tells the story of a young father and husband, who leaves his family and home behind to search for a better life for his family. Although we get the feeling that his home is under threat dur to the black dragon like tails weaving throughout the houses, we know that he is leaving behind his sense of belonging to his amily and most likely friends, although this is not illustrated in the book. He moves to a world full of shadows and wonder, where very little seems familiar to him, with each person having their own fantastical creature, which is simply ordinary to them, and boats that sail in the sky. The feeling of isolation, confusion, disconnection and overall not belonging, is very obvious here. The protagonist finds it difficult to adjust to this new wor ld and lifestyle, having problems with language barriers; he finds it hard to get a job and even somewhere to live. He later begins to work in a factory, in an assembly line, sorting things into piles. During this time, he meets people with stories on how they got to this world, which almost all of the people are also immigrants. Although he is starting to adjust to this new lifestyle, while slowly developing a sense of security and friends, he obviously still misses his wife and daughter. The man often sent his daughter a letter, folding it into a paper crane. After some time both his wife and child join him in the new world, after a while his family settle down and start to feel as though they belong in this world. Gradually, the male protagonist ends up directing the other ‘new people’ on where to go and what to do. Through the use of unique visual techniques within the novel, it is similarly conveyed the process as having the ability to evoke ones deepest strengths to overcome the challenges allowing the audience to view the ideas of a sense of home as well as formed relationships contributing to a sense of kinship How ideas about belonging are expressed in the text Lack of words – Without language we find ourselves in a strange land. There is little familiar to anchor us, there is nothing to guide us to help interpret the images, so the reader must search for meaning themselves and seek familiarity in a world where such things are either scarce or concealed. By having words the reader’s imagination is forced to be limited and they interpret the image on the surface rather than letting the image have more conceptual space around it. Also, by not using words, Tan demonstrates the confusion an immigrant might feel upon arrival in a new country where the language is unknown. Obviously, this means the reader will not be able to read what the maps, newspapers and street signs actually say, so we too are forced into this world of the unknown, as the immigrant is. Facial expressions and body language – is a key part, especially in a wordless novel, in interpreting the scenario depicted in the story. On arrival of the male protagonist to the ‘new world’, the physical effects of dislocation and confusion are written on his face, which is juxtaposed to the mechanical and faceless actions of the immigration officials. Images show some of the ways characters can represent feelings of alienation, in these scene, the centre top frame shows the confusion as he tries to make sense of unfamiliar territory and language. His face and body position him as outside the circle of belonging. Structure – the narrative is driven by storyboarding and montage and is backed into reflective mode through large scale landscapes scenes. For example the opening pages depict items that relate to the emotionally heart-breaking scene where husband and wife prepare for his departure. Later the montage achieves cinematic effect of zooming out from the family photo, through the porthole of the departing ship. The film like construction of particular moments also contributes to themes of isolation through a zoom-like storyboard and belonging is established through focus. This is obvious on the page where the man is looking at the map on the top centre image of the page, with obvious confusion and isolation, whereas the bottom, larger picture at the bottom shows a broader context where references to the known are challenged and altered. The man in the centre of the frame seems alienated by his surroundings and the other characters depicted in the image. Tan adeptly controls the books pacing and rhythm by alternating a grid like layout of small panels, which move the action forward, with stirring single- and double-page spreads that invite awestruck pauses. By flawlessly developing nuances of human feeling and establishing the enigmatic setting, he compassionately describes an immigrants dilemma. Imaginary world – ‘imaginary worlds should never be ‘pure fantasy’ and without a concrete ring of truth, they can easily cripple the readers suspended disbelief, or simply confuse them too much’ – Shaun Tan. Tan believes that the right balance between everyday objects, animals, and people and their much fanciful alternatives is crucial for the reader to be able to somewhat relate, be interested and understand the text. The narrative uses a fictional place, which is unfamiliar to any readers, no matter what age or background, this was the reader will understand the confusion, isolation and disconnection elt when coming to a new country, or a new setting of any kind. In this world, there are normal everyday objects, and objects that are merely close to normal, such as the birds and the trees. Metaphor – in the scene of rotting buildings over which, there are some kind of huge black serpent ‘swimming’, entwining themselves in t he buildings gives us a sense that the protagonist is forced to leave. The reader can interpret this metaphor either literally, as an infestation of monsters or figuratively, as some kind of oppressive threat. This leaves it open for the individual reader to decide whether this might be political, economic, personal or something else, depending on what ideas and feelings the picture may inspire. Detailed pencil drawings – pencil gives you softness to the image which is engaging to the reader, and it gives the artist control over the range of tones, which is presented in the image of the ship, which moves from the relative light, from the protagonists ‘known’ world, into a darker world of the unknown. Angles – the angle of certain shots show the significance or insignificance of certain things, or other people’s perspectives. For example, in the beginning of the novel, at the introduction of the daughter the image is a low angle as if from the child’s perspective. And on the next page, at the image of the family walking down the street, presumably to the fathers departure, the high shot put the family in perspective, making them look smaller in their own environment. Motifs – birds are used throughout the narrative, to show both the safeness of his homeland and the isolation felt in the protagonist’s new world. Origami birds refer back to images at home, whereas the alien birds flying symbolise the new (alien) land. And in the man’s new world, there is a dominant image of a bird like creature nursing an egg, symbolising new life. The family portrait is shown often throughout the novel, at first when the protagonist is packing things to leave, when on the departing ship and towards the middle of the book, when he is opening his suitcase and gets a reminder of his family, and we see the importance of the family portrait. Towards the end, in chapter 6, both the birds and the portrait have subtle changes when the protagonist’s wife and daughter join him in his new world. How it relates to poetry of Skrzynecki The theme and motifs repeatedly expressed in The Arrival is related intensely to Peter Skrzynecki: Immigrant Chronicle, as all seven poems express views on the isolation and disconnecting feeling of being an outsider, culturally and to a new location. Skrzynecki expresses views of not belonging to his immediate family, (mother and father), with the metaphor ‘watched me pegging my tents further and further from Hadrian’s Wall’, meaning that although he still has a relationship and communication with his father, he is slowly being distanced from him due to barriers, this is similar in The Arrival as the protagonist is forced to leave his home and family in order to find a better life for them, at the same time being distance and disconnected from. Tan doesn’t directly suggest why the need to leave to another place is, but does give us the feeling that it is forced due to the black dragon-like tails taking over the town, Skrzynecki says in Postcard ‘great city that bombs destroyed, its people massacred or exiled – you survived in the eyes of a dying generation half a world away’ describing his home place Poland, where he lived until the end of World War II. Through this we see the similarities in the feelings of the protagonist and Peter Skrzynecki, neither of them get to go back to the world they remember, they are forced to integrate into this new world with new culture. The protagonist in The Arrival, although presumably being forced, sacrifices himself, his sense of belonging and identity, his family and friends, in order to find a better life for his family, this indirectly connects him with Peter Skrzynecki’s mother, who, as identified in St Patricks College, sacrifices herself and her finances to get her family what was best, which in her eyes was sending Skrzynecki to the college.