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Literary analysis of “Blankets” by Craig Thompson

Introduction

Authors use various literary techniques to create emotions in their stories. Many comics and graphical novels use a combination of text and images to create different emotions. This is a difficult aspect for many authors of comics because many are usually about superheroes. Comics about superheroes mainly focus on the accuracy of the images for readers to view the heroic acts of these characters. This is so because there are very few comics that have other themes apart from the one mentioned above. Emotions are essential in any story that seeks to connect readers and the characters. Many authors use expressive words to create emotions in the novels. Emotion adds value to stories, especially romantic ones. Various authors try to write romantic comics but most of them portray the lustful fantasy theme. Blankets by Craig Thompson is a unique book because it is a comic novel with passionate artwork. The story reveals the life of the author through the events that take place from his childhood to his adult life. The author uses abstract images, excellent transition between panels and integration to add value to his work. He also uses black and white images because he believes that negative space can also communicate to the readers. On the other hand, the story telling techniques convey aspects such as realism, personal emotions and the journey of self-discovery. Thompson’s artwork conveys the emotions in the novel. He uses abstract images because his interest is on the emotions depicted and not the accuracy of the images. The analysis of Thompson’s artwork and literary techniques reveals the emotions in Blankets.

The plot of the novel Blankets by Craig Thompson does not play a major role in the story. The emotions in Blankets are the main focus in the book. The artwork creates a deeper meaning of the story and has an immense impact on the reader. His panels link various emotions in the story. He also uses minimal text to create realism and give readers a fast-paced read. The pictures in the panels have expressive brush strokes that depict the emotions in the novel. They flow from one panel to the other, so they intertwine various events in Craig’s childhood. The drawings also show Craig’s inner isolation from the world. The panels that show Craig’s classmates criticizing him in grade school and he looks like he could bury his head underneath his desk are an example of his alienation from the world (Thompson, 32). Thompson uses dark shadings around Craig to separate him from his classmates. This shading depicts Craig’s alienation from his peers. Thompson also uses curvy brushstroke lines between Craig and Raina to show their connection and the love that alienates them from the rest of the world. At the beginning of Craig and Raina’s relationship, the artwork creates a warm, fuzzy and cozy snuggling, but as their relationship matures, it shows a sexual relationship between them (Thompson, 423). Thompsons depicts Craig’s inner demons using dark shading and sharp jagged lines (Thompson, 60). These are the distractions that minimize his chances of enjoying the glory in heaven.

Thompson also uses abstraction to depict the characters in the novel. He does not focus on the accuracy of his drawings, so he uses dots and lines for representation and easy reading. He uses simple and rounded images for the minor characters, but for Craig, who is the major character, Thompson uses distinct shapes and angular lines to distinguish Craig from the other characters. He also uses these aspects to show Craig’s awkwardness and isolation. Craig has a square chin narrow face and lanky arms and legs. He also has a triangular nose that is well–rendered and three dimensional. He also represents Raina as a beautiful character for the readers to see her from Craig’s perspective. Thompson also uses subjective images for readers to understand how much Craig loved Raina. For instance, Craig thinks the ski camp’s game room is chaotic and frightening, but the presence of Raina makes him comfortable (Thompson, 118). Craig also thinks the choir’s melodies are fake and empty, but Riana makes it bearable (Thompson, 151). The panels that show Craig’s childhood have images of a young boy to show the difference between those that portray his current life.

Thompson also uses black and white as an artistic technique in his novel because he wanted to portray various aspects using the negative space. The story took place during winter when there was tons of snow, so Thompson thought that the negative white space would be suitable for depicting the snow. Negative space is also a form of communication because the absence of images on a page gives readers a clue of what is happening in the novel. The book also has various scenes where Craig and Riana bond in the snow, so the negative space creates the snowy aspect. At the end of the book, there is a panel that lacks shading and shows Craig seated in his old room with Jesus’ picture and a cross. This panel is different from the rest because it shows that Craig is no longer part of the setting. It shows the change in Craig’s life where he decides to leave his parents’ religion follow his dream. Thompson also uses negative space to show how Craig painted over the mural on Raina’s wall. He uses integration to show how the mural disappeared from the wall after Craig painted over it. The series of panels create a visual expression of the disappearance of the mural and they also show how Craig is continuing with his life after the break up.

Thompson also uses various literary techniques in his novel. He tries to blend the images with the words of the characters, so he uses tone to create a relationship with the readers. The tone in the novel is personal and intimate to bring out raw emotions. It also helps readers acquire a personal relationship with the novel. He uses flashback to show the impact of Craig’s childhood on his teenage life. He blends panels of Craig’s childhood experiences with those of his current life to help readers understand Craig’s life. He also uses metaphors to create wild imaginations in his story. Thompson uses various imaginations of Phil and Craig to create the light-hearted nature of childhood. For instance, the two brothers think of their bed as a ship voyaging through a stormy sea. Their animals are their shipmates and their bed sheets are their sails (Thompson, 406). Thompson also uses humor to show Craig’s memories of his childhood. The panels about the urine fight are humorous because the parties involved in the war have Spiderman and Batman t-shirts. These t-shirts depict a superhero fight between the two boys. They use pillows as their defense weapons against the urine passing out of their genitals. The two boys enjoyed the urine fight until when their mother walked in and instilled some church and adult morals. She forced them to take a bath and this marked as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. It also makes them realize the things that are socially unacceptable in the adult world. There are also panels that show how the boys covered themselves in spit because there was immense heat in the room. This is a humorous act because readers try to imagine the amount of spit that could relieve one from the discomfort of excess heat. This also shows various aspects of the innocence of the childhood. They did this to make their parents give them a fan that would save them from the heat. Personification is also evident in the story of the stormy sea. Craig uses their teddy bear to act as their enemies. They threw on the floor to symbolize the death of their rivals.

Thompson also portrays various features of the Fundamentalist Christians through contrast. Craig’s peers alienated him because of his parents who were poor and also Fundamentalist Christians. His peers followed the values of the pop culture. He uses this aspect to differentiate the poor and the rich in his story. Craig’s peers were not as religious as his parents taught him. His parents constantly criticized him because he did not follow the ways of the Fundamentalist Christians. They were also poor, so Craig’s life could not blend with that of his peers. Craig’s consolation comes from his art and God. The two opposing forces in Craig’s life enhance the internal conflict that creates difficulties in his adolescent life. The conflict was immense because the pop culture and the Christian values were different. The Church condemned Craig’s art and imagination, which are two things that help Craig find peace. He decides to stop his art because it distracted from his religion. He burnt all his art work but still felt the urge to draw. This makes him find ways of making his artwork acceptable. He makes drawings of cartoons that glorify the Almighty (Thompson, 141). He again realizes that these drawings did not offer him the inners satisfaction of an artist. Raina came into his life and inspired him to follow his true calling of being an artist. Raina’s letters gave him wild imaginations that made him masturbate for the first time, but his religious faith did not give him a chance to repeat the act.

Thompson also utilizes Bible verses to depict Craig’s struggle to figure out his life. Craig reads the Bible and implements its morals. For instance, he read the passage where the sick woman touched Jesus cloak to get healed. Jesus noticed and asked, ‘Who touched me?” this question popped up in many occasions in the novel. When Craig was in the guest room, the animals taunted him and asked the same question. The same question also popped up Craig struggles between his religions and his lust for Raina. The bible verses help the readers to relate with the religious aspects that create conflicts in Craig’s life. He also uses imagery to explain why he left the Bible. When Craig was a child, he had immense for his religion but as he grew older, he realized that his religion kept him away from his passions. The act of leaving the Bible represents his departure from childhood and entry into adulthood. However, Thompson also creates irony when he says that a Bible verse in Ecclesiastes encouraged him to leave the Bible.

Conclusion

Comics or graphical novels use pictures and images to tell a story. The panels in these books should be elaborate and should also have a story behind the pictures. Panels are the main features in comics and graphical novels. The transitions between is also vital because it also helps readers to relate to the vents in the story. Blankets by Craig Thompson is a unique novel because the author plays around with the literary techniques to depict the emotions in the story. Flashbacks also link the events in Craig’s current and childhood life. Thompson also adds humor into his story to make readers enjoy and also relate to childhood innocence. The images are also in black and white for emphasis and use of negative space to tell a story. The white space also depicts the winter season because white is the color of snow. He also uses abstract images to contrast the characters in his story. For instance, Craig’s image is different from that of the other characters and his childhood images are also different from his adolescent ones. The story also highlights some Christian values. Craig explains the things that are forbidden in his religion such as art.

References

Thompson, Craig. Blankets: A Graphic Novel. Marietta, Ga: Top Shelf, 2003. Print