I revisited my secondary school biology and physics lesson by reading “Mantis Shrimp” by The Oatmeal. I glance at the story I could vividly still remember the lesson on cones and rods in the eye and the light spectrum in optical physics classes. I remember, as a kid, the colorful images in the story would have drawn my attention. As an adult, I was frustrated by the colorful nature of the entire story and took it for children literature and only glance through. Two days later in trying to understand why the author says mantis shrimp is his or her new favorite animal, I discover an excellent relationship between image, symbol, and the word. My thought as a read the story are as follows: First, the story is an interplay of words and pictures. The …show more content…
Unlike in an ordinary novel where the mind’s eye plays a vital role, understanding graphic hangs on the reader ability to read, see, and interpret these symbols and picture-visualization. In other words, understanding a graph novel is through symbols unlike through words in another genre. This aspect causes the reader to feel the emotion as if in a real-life situation. For instances, the word “motion” is placed between two arrows and light at the center of a spark. In addition, the use of a superman-type image to emphasize the strength of mantis shrimp communicate better the description in terms of Newton when this creature punch with its two powerful front claws and when uses its two appendages, send out bubbles that when collapsing sending shock waves strong enough to punch a prey to dead or even broke an aquarium. Also, the use of question marks to emphasize the possession of thirteen more color-receptive cones to highlight colors unseen by man makes the reader want to fill the gaps. Last, the use of a “thermonuclear bomb of light type-rainbow to emphasize on the possession of eyes with sixteen different color-receptive cones as opposed to humans with just three makes the story
“ The horizon was the color of milk. Cold and fresh. Poured out among the bodies” (Zusak 175). The device is used in the evidence of the quote by using descriptives words that create a mental image. The text gives the reader that opportunity to use their senses when reading the story. “Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vandenburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes, and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed” (Zusak 188). This quote demonstrates how the author uses descriptive words to create a mental image which gives the text more of an appeal to the reader's sense such as vision. “She could see his face now, in the tired light. His mouth was open and his skin was the color of eggshells. Whisker coated his jaw and chin, and his ears were hard and flat. He had a small but misshapen nose” (Zusak 201). The quotes allows the reader to visualize what the characters facial features looked like through the use of descriptive words. Imagery helps bring the story to life and to make the text more exciting. The reader's senses can be used to determine the observations that the author is making about its characters. The literary device changes the text by letting the reader interact with the text by using their observation skills. The author is using imagery by creating images that engages the reader to know exactly what's going on in the story which allows them to
In every short story there is always a deeper meaning to the literature work, any author wants to communicate a multi-layered idea, to their readers, they wants their readers to connect to the short story that they are telling. The authors of these types of literature writings are able to take their readers on a journey within their writings. When a person reads these literary works, they begin to unravel and interpret the symbolic nature of the character’s journey throughout the short story. Also, the journey is
Using words and details in a story can provide the main impression by telling rather instead of showing an author’s feelings and thoughts in the childhood memory. In the showing and telling technique and author may use verbs like “felt” or a noun such as “thought” to create the dominant impression.
The plot of the novel is creatively explained in a way that anyone can visualize through the event...
If my origin story was a movie, the opening scene would be my discovery of books. It’d be a wide shot of me as a roley poley toddler, as I reached out to one of my brother’s old picture books. And as I grasped the cardboard cover open, I would be swallowed up by a moment of true epiphany. I can only imagine such a dramatic beginning as being dignant of what would be my lifelong obsession. As I grew up, I ate through books quickly, always craving that fantastic feeling of being completely absorbed into a world outside of my own. Until middle school this love was simple, but then there was my introduction to literary analysis. As my eighth grade English class studied Romeo and Juliet, my teacher directed us to the usage of natural imagery. Here
It is hard to recognize moral story from imagery and similitude’s. Similitude’s utilize words or expressions, while Symbolism for the most part alludes to the utilization of images in writing to pass thoughts and qualities. A question, word, expression, activity or occasion can be utilized
From my point of view, it seems that the key theme of the story is about the comparison of illusions and reality, as readers are provided with a lot
Imagery is everywhere in this short story from the description of the couple, "...self-satisfied face, with glasses on it; the woman was fadingly pretty, in a big hat.", to the description of the entire scene, "It arrived, in the form of a small but glossy birthday cake, with one candle burning in the center." Having these images give the reader a sense of what is going on vividly, as if they were really there witnessing everything first-hand.
These two stories hold components that are clearly differentiating, yet similar in the meantime. Having every story been composed in a third-individual account structure, the onlooker
In conclusion, it is hard to grasp the true meaning of the story unless the story is read a second time because of the author's style of writing.
A narrative is specified to amuse, to attract, and grasp a reader’s attention. The types of narratives are fictitious, real or unification or both. However, they may consist of folk tale stories, mysteries, science fiction; romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, and personal experience (“Narrative,” 2008). Therefore, narrative text has five shared elements. These are setting, characters, plot, theme, and vocabulary (“Narrative and Informational Text,” 2008). Narrative literature is originally written to communicate a story. Therefore, narrative literature that is written in an excellent way will have conflicts and can discuss shared aspects of human occurrence.
The classic comic book is a polar opposite of the complex nature of poetry. The comic book is designed for the younger reader and possesses a simplistic nature that allows the creator to use visual media combined with short written dialog to tell a story. The pictures in a comic book are an integral part of the makeup of a comic book. The pictures allow the creator to portray the protagonist and antagonist in a way that is common to all readers. This however inhibits the use of imagination by the reader. The pictures are all an artist's interpretations of the actions and settings that make up each scene. When a person reads descriptive text with no pictures, it allows the reader to build a mental picture of each scene that is unique to his/her own personality. The comic book does not allow for this expressiveness in its prefabricated structure.
I once spent a full three minutes looking for a bullfrog that was so unexpectedly large I couldn’t see it even though a dozen enthusiastic campers were shouting directions. Finally I asked, ‘What color am I looking for?’ and a fellow said, ‘Green.’ When at last I picked out the frog, I saw what painters are up against: The thing wasn’t green at all, but the color of wet hickory bark” (p. 695). This example illustrates how we can perceive colors differently from one another. Annie had visualized her idea of what the green bullfrog should look like, possibly from a picture she had seen in the past. The person that told her the frog was green may have meant that it was an olive green. For instance, what some might call burgundy, others would call dark red or even crimson. Furthermore, people who are colorblind have an entirely different perception of colors; depending on the degree of colorblindness, they may not be able to recognize the colors red, green, or
The narrator’s voice controls the narration with only about seven instances of direct speech. The author uses assorted heavy color graphics to emphasize the fundamentals. For instance, the photos revealing mantis shrimp, the image of the butterflies describing its possession of, “five types color-receptive cones (Oatmeal, n.d.),” that describing a rainbow created from sixteen colors, that which shows a mantis as a superman putting on an armored outfit. The author further makes the reader walk through real-life emotions by using black and white shadow-like images as transitional phrases or words which keep the suspends. Next, the author uses distinct colors to represent different environment and emotions.