The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel published in 2006 by publishers Hooders Children Books. This graphic novel or picture book is used to illustrate multiple different themes including family, war, and perseverance. Shaun Tan, born in 1974 in Perth, is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and illustrator to his and many other authors works. The illustrator had used visual techniques such as colour and camera angles to bring to light important themes. In this essay, I will talk about three themes, child labour, war and immigration/refugees.
Similarly, the book’s three leading protagonists ultimately possess a common objective, escaping their unjust circumstances in pursuit of seeking the “warmth of other suns.” For this reason, they abandon the laws of Jim Crow and the familiarity of their hometowns as they flee to a better life. In the process, they all assume a level of risk in their decisions to rebel against the system. For example, Ida decides to embark on a precarious journey while in the beginning stages of a clandestine pregnancy. Any number of unpredictable events could have resulted from this judgment, including fatality. All of the migrants shared an unspoken agreement that the rewards would far outweigh the dangers involved.
It deals with obstacles in life and the ways they are over come. Even if you are different, there are ways for everyone to fit in. The injustices in this book are well written to inform a large audience at many age levels. The book is also a great choice for those people who cheers for the underdogs. It served to illustrate how the simple things in life can mean everything.
Connection to people, family, and places are conveyed through the representation of belonging. “Rainbows End” by Harrison gives us the connection between Nan Dear with the Aboriginal Community, and a connection through family. “The Little Refugee” illustrates how Anh has had barrier that has prevented him from belonging, and how he has fitted in school, resulting in Anh creating friends along with being accepted.
Indian Horse is the perfect novel for any reader who does not see positivity in a bad situation. Richard Wagamese magnificently takes the reader into an emotional rollercoaster throughout their reading journey. Wagamese superbly proves the possibility of getting back up when knocked down, no matter how many times a person is knocked down. Despite the atrocious scenes that come up, Indian Horse is an optimistic novel because it shows that Aboriginal people have positivity and hope not only negatives, and that they are not just “lazy and hopeless”: a reader can see these positives through Saul’s hard work to improve and become the best hockey player he can be, his effort to ameliorate and return to being a “normal” member of society , and the
In Conclusion, the book Home of the Brave reflects Kek’s simple way of learning and adapting to a new language, culture, and experiences. From the content above, it is proven that Kek is lost between his identities and wants to be American in the same time. This is a very sensitive narration that covers most of the issues faced by new migrants from developing countries; from misinterpretation of appliances, to the hardships to learn English, and finally, racism.
Bagnall, K. (2001). The little immigrants : The orphans who came to Canada. Toronto, ON: Dundurn Press.
Anh Do’s story starts and centres of one thing, family. In the book ‘The Happiest Refugee’ written by the successful Australian comedian Anh Do, his autobiography starts when Anh’s role model his father steered them out of a war, poverty and misfortune from the country of Vietnam in 1980 over the rough seas into his beloved home today, Australia. To what he has pushed through and become to this day, merely by having a ‘can do attitude’ and consistently showing bravery and exceptional resilience throughout every challenge he faces.
Lee, Erika, and Judy Yung. Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
These struggles of assimilation are revealed in Choy’s writing, who draws on his own experiences to provide vivid imagery and deep insight into the emotions felt by immigrants. In her analysis of Wayson Choy’s works, literary critic Deborah Madsen writes, “growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown was instrumental in shaping Choy’s [...] writing” (101). Madsen explains that “the immigrant condition of a failure to belong, both in the nation of ethnic origin and also to the nation of residence” (101) is a recurring topic in Choy’s novels as a result of his own experiences. Madse...
...acters, an unidentified apocalypse, and specks of detail, allowing readers to imagine a desolated setting on a blank canvas. Its two main characters, who symbolize the last strength for the human race, are forced onto a road that stretches to the coastal shores. The absent presence of everyday humans, plants, and wildlife generally fits the science fiction genre. Conversations between both father and son are limited to plain words that the child may only comprehend to. As a result, all responses produce disheartening lines of gloom and obscurity, though the child remains innocent during the days of darkness. He is also an icon of hope that the father holds onto, endlessly tending to the child’s living. Overall, this novel presents the terrible apocalypse in the modern times of before, to the aftermath between two characters who will soon meet their fate.
A mother sees her children off to school at the school bus stop; however, they would never see each other again. The mother’s trip to the immigration check-in has caused a dramatic change in both her’s and her family’s lives. A story such as this, one where a parent is taken away and deported, is far too common in the U.S.A. An unsympathetic system of deportation has torn many families apart and has thrown away all the effort that immigrants have put into coming to America. Throughout the novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, a young boy named Enrique struggles to immigrate to the U.S. and faces many obstacles that infringe on his right to immigrate. The right to immigrate is threatened both in the U.S. and around the world by corrupt dysfunctional
One of the major themes surrounding the Man 'yōshū is the concept of loss and separation as it relates to both people and nature, this theme is explored throughout the texts and explores it’s complicated effect on love and people. This theme also touches on people’s responsibility to nature and love in this context of the inevitability of loss due to the permeance of time. The Man 'yōshū’s historical relevance as one of Japan’s oldest surviving poetry anthologies and its subsequent “immortalization” provides a very unique context. A context in which we have the ability to look into a very different culture and time and the concepts and observations they were pondering about the world around us and the reality we face. There are many examples
The film deals heavily on the subject of immigration and deportation surrounding, inside the film there are scenes where there are immigrates inside of cages due to them being caught and being departed. The sad thing about this is most immigrates who are in the cage suffered so many depressing and horrific things from where they are from that the thought of being in this new place shows them a completely different life and it gives them a sense of hope, “Poor refugees; after escaping the worst atrocities and
Throughout both ‘Rainbow’s End’ and ‘The Rabbits’, the audience discovers the plights that the Aboriginal Australians faced, due to discrimination and assimilation, in intensely confronting, yet intensely meaningful ways. We see how the discrimination and forced assimilation of cultures was common in the lead up to modern times because of composers like Harrison, Marsden and Tan reminding us of these events, allowing us to discover and rediscover our past wrongs through their works, in order to pave the way for a brighter, harmonious future. Without these documentations and retellings of events such as these, history would repeat itself, conflicts would be more apparent and we as a species would not be able to thrive and prosper due to our prejudices and superiority complexes.
Smith, Angela. 2006. “Paddington Bear: A Case Study of Immigration and Otherness.” Children’s Literature in Education 37(1). DOI: 10.1007/s10583-005-9453-3.