- Nov 2016
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zachwhalen.net zachwhalen.net
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Look at him tryna' hide all his problems with alcohol.
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Snake-like, but also thought it may be a nod to femininity. In contrast to masculinity and all the phallic symbols (I think the snake is a phallic-like thing).
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zachwhalen.net zachwhalen.net
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Text giving the speech bubbles a whole new meaning.
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zachwhalen.net zachwhalen.net
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This is one of the few pictures that has a lot of black outline. I feel like it highlights isolation and separation in the family.
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zachwhalen.net zachwhalen.net
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The combination of narrative, picture and words in parentheses helps me understand how OCD works in the mind. There is a lot more thought behind the compulsion than I realized.
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- Oct 2016
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www.english.ufl.edu www.english.ufl.edu
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the threat of nuclear war will return and with it the terror.
Accurate of the world today too.
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People don't connect with each other. It's like, you been coming here weeks, readin' that junk over an' over, an' yet we ain't exactly close …"
The characters in this book are all interconnected, even if they aren't aware they know each other, we as the reader are aware.
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This image of the Doomsday clock, starting as the iconic bloody smiley face, repeats so often and in so many forms that it is barely noticeable at first, but by the end of Watchmen, the image has become another illustration of the repetitive symptoms of trauma &ndash in this case, the trauma of living under the threat of nuclear war.
I figured the doomsday clock implied there would be more to come. That and the red splattered smiley face, I feel like there could be a sequel made about the next end-of-the-world threat.
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As a timepiece, the repeating image of the watch-face, sometimes broken and sometimes repaired, also emphasizes Jon's broken chronology. It illustrates the "hands frozen" on the beer when he meets Janey Slater, the cause of Jon's accident, and … Hiroshima (Moore 4: 24).
I thought the time imagery and symbolism was so cool. I also felt like it connected to how each character in the novel was struggling with thing from their past.
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As if to emphasize Jon's current difficulties connecting to people, much of the other repetitious images focus on his failed relationship with Janey Slater, intrusive reminders of a relationship that failed because of his accident.
This scene definitely highlights his difficulties, and the confusing-ness of the panels further highlights this.
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In graphic novels, images can repeat in multiple panels, as the focus of the frame or in the background. They can appear unexpectedly, intruding upon the moment, or they can be subtly hidden, giving an association that is not obvious.
I feel like this also helped show multiple character's individual lives/ realities in one page.
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fragmented narrative effectively represents trauma symptoms because traumatic events can disrupt chronological time.
Graphic novels are especially good at representing this fragmented narrative because the story is physically broken into separate panels that highlight this fragmentation.
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"Traumatized people feel utterly abandoned, utterly alone, cast out of the human and divine systems of care and protection that sustain life.
S/o to Dr.Manhattan fleeing to Mars.
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the graphic novel, has an ideal form for representing trauma but has found little critical attention.
I think it has gotten so little attention because it is not a traditional form of literature and therefore is not taken seriously in an academic setting. Even though graphic novels have proven to be critical/ serious literary works.
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Woven together into a complex structure, illustrations of personal traumatic experiences and national traumatic events represent the growing fear, the helplessness, and the isolation that mankind can experience during and after a traumatic event, in this case, events connected to fears of the Atomic bomb and nuclear war.
The graphics in Watchmen were especially successful in helping to convey this terror and trauma.
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both personal and national
This is one of the things I thought Watchmen did really well. It paralleled the characters personal drama with the real concerns of the end of the world/ the cold war.
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- Aug 2016
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www.dartmouth.edu www.dartmouth.edu
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Mr. Oldbuck turns over a new leaf.
Is this finally the last leaf? Or a cliffhanger?
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Mr. Oldbuck turns over a new leaf.
This pattern of this phrase and picture highlights how determined Mr. Oldbuck is. How many leaves does this fool have to turn over before he is satisfied???
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ingeniously
The sarcasm in this comic is hilarious. I feel like the narrator is continuously trolling Mr. Oldbuck
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