I think today's class discussion is going to be great. For once I'm certain everybody loved the book we read this week and we'll have plenty to talk about. The Graveyard Book is probably my second favorite so far this semester. So I want to pose some questions before class:
What do the illustrations add (or possibly take away) to (from) the story? Sometimes with illustrations or even movies I get irritated because I would rather form my own images for books that I read. But I think the sketches for this book were perfect. Not too much, not too little. They were simple enough to not detract from the images in my head, and happened to perfectly match what I had pictured.
What was with the Jacks of All Trades? They were so concerned about this kid ruining them, that they actually caused their own downfall by going after him. Sure, this means the prophecy they heard was true, but it wouldn't have been if they hadn't pursued him. Plus they're just an odd concept in general. I was kinda freaked out by the man Jack from the beginning, but when I found out it was basically a cult of men named Jack I couldn't help but wonder where the heck Neil Gaiman got that idea.
I think that's about it for this morning...I'm excited to see how everybody feels about it in class this afternoon. Now off to shower and attempt to read some of Under the Dome before classes :-)
9 comments:
I think that sometimes illustrations do take away from the book, because I too like to form my own images of what's going on. For example, I love a series of books (Blue is for Nightmares, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, Red is For Remembrance) and they are about a high school psychic. I've been reading them for years, and was really excited to hear they were coming out with another one (Black is for Beginnings) but it turns out the newest one was a graphic novel. I hated it. It took all of the characters I knew and had images of and completely changed them. Fortunately the images do not take away from this book. I think they give it a bit more of a haunted feel, I liked them.
I thought the Jack of All Trades were kind of scary, but it reminded me of an episode of King of the Hill where Luanne and Peggy join an all female cult where everyone is called "Jane," though I'm pretty sure Gaiman didn't get his idea from King of the Hill.
The Jacks causing their own downfall reminded me of Voldermort choosing Harry instead of Neville as the child in the prophecy. By killing the family of a small child, both gave the child motivation and the tools to bring about their downfall.
I'm totally loving that analogy, Matt!
Bahaha! I was going to make the Voldemort reference too, Matt! I'm glad you beat me to it. People in this class are only going to think I've read Harry Potter.
So to offer another analogy....What about Star Wars? When Anakin sees that Padme is going to die, he allies with the Dark Side and brings about his (and her) own doom.
I think that often times people (both in reality and in fiction) become so paranoid over falling out of power that in their seeking to eliminate threats to their power they only make those threats stronger.
The old Twilight Zone episode about the cursed mirror, with Peter Falk as a Castro-like revolutionary, memorably dramatized the same theme when I was a kid.
Of course, Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth all foreground the theme, too.
I like the pictures because they add to the macabre feeling, especially the one on the very first page.
I like all of your examples, but I think we are not going far enough back. The original tale of a prophesy fulfilling itself via the actions of those seeking to nullify it is obviously Oedipus Rex. As has been said before everything is a copy of a copy, it is all about how the story is told.
Post a Comment