Shaun Tan's The Arrival_Week 1

Readying Shaun Tan’s The Arrival was a very interesting journey. The abstract shapes and impossible environment got me hooked right from the first page. It caused the story to be engaging without dialogue. But because the story is told with no dialogue, it was very hard to understand the first time reading through the story. The parts that caused me the most problems were the flash back scenes, because it happened without warning and I was disoriented. But re-reading the story, it was very clear and well organized. The images themselves told more than any dialogue box ever could, and it forces you to enjoy the art than reading the dialogue and forcing the images to come second.

The reason this story works so well without dialogue is because you are traveling to a distant foreign land with the main character. And neither you nor the main character can speak, read or understand the native language, or the culture. You are both exploring the land together, learning how to survive along the way. The story also has an obvious goal; you want the daughter and wife to be reunited with the main character. Small successes like the main character getting himself food and learning how to work with his pet makes the comic feel like there is progressing and you feel happy for the main character.

The abstract and no dialogue caused me to critically think about every image I looked at. What could the symbolism mean? What story is this possible portraying?

If I had to critically analyze this story I would say that it took place during a war, and was about a family trying to make a life a different country. The father doesn’t understand the native in the land or the strange customs that the country could have. The author obviously over exaggerated each aspect of the country to demonstrate the foreignness to any audience that looked at the comic.