Why are there so many animals?… Just wondering.

Immigration seems to be one of the main themes this semester because the autobiography in English class, Brother I’m Dying,  discusses the similar difficulty of the transition immigrants suffer through.

This new land, most likely New York, is depicted as a refuge for people who have to escape the horrors from their own country.  The main character, with the intention of bringing his wife and daughter over, leaves home because he and his family are being oppressed.  These feelings are evident from their fear-ridden facial expressions, the deserted streets, and the lurking shadows of scary-looking claws.  We can sense that there is something dark and evil present although, we might not be able to pinpoint exactly what, or who, it is.

Every person the main character engages with talks about his past and the horrors his country possessed, which were, surprisingly, all different.  The first man faced mass genocide in his country, which possibly depicted the Holocaust.  The old man escaped the damages of war in his country.  All here now working with a huge smile on their face did nothing but encourage the main character to achieve this kind of life too.  The “American Dream” being not the riches of the world on your doorstep but being the chance of peace and safety.  With this fact, one can lead a happy, mostly mediocre financial, life.

When I first opened Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” I was surprised to find that the book had no words, besides a brief description in the beginning, and a page at the end thanking all the people who helped and sources of information. The last time I read a picture book was so long ago that i can’t even distinctly remember it. But even then the picture book had words, sentences, and a general story line no matter how simple. However, this book was still different than any book i have experienced in my memory. Usually a book can paint a scene in my mind, but this book was the painted scene, and I was the narrator.

This creates a unique feeling when you “read” the book. You could read it multiple times, and each time create a new story to be told by the pictures. I write read in apostrophes because technically you are not reading. Technically you are also not watching as you would television. This adds another unique perspective only found in a radical book such as “The Arrival.” You are not reading, watching, but rather looking at pictures and creating a storyboard in your head.

Although everyone who reads this book perceives it differently, the concept behind the story is still the same. Immigration, is something extremely unique to a big city such as New York. Most inhabitants of New York City come from families who immigrated decades ago, and prospered in a vastly different world. Likewise, my family immigrated to New York searching for opportunities beyond their farming and fishing way of life in the Italian island of Sicily. The hieroglyphic like symbols express the difficulty of learning a new language, and the confusion created by maps and these unknown symbols. Similar to the type of book, the theme of the book, immigration, is a general experience with millions of unique perspectives which can be shown through the different faces that line the insides of the cover of the book.

When I bought The Arrival by Shaun Tan, I was surprised to see that there were no words. After I finished “reading” the book, I was surprised to note how poignantly a story could be told solely through pictures. In fact, it may be the most effective method of communicating an idea. Where words can sometimes become awkward or complicate an idea, a picture succintly represents all the emotion in a single glance.

What struck me most about the pictures was that even though the images were of strange, unfamiliar things, they were still recognizable in some ways. For example, when the man the story revolves around is on the ship sailing to this new land, the city skyline and welcoming statue are reminiscent to that of New York, even if the particular buildings and said statue are not. Also, the building in which all the immigrants are gathered and examined looks very much like Ellis Island.

Furthermore, the story of immigration is a familiar one to all of us. In our collective histories, I’m sure every one of us has a story of someone they know, or maybe even themselves, who has gone through this frightening process of immigrating to a new country, for whatever reason. This fact serves to connect us together, much like it connects the characters featured in this book. This common thread unites them, and by the end of the book the man that the story revolves around is included in this community, and in turn helps newer immigrants also to find their way.

Shaun Tan depicts the common immigrant story in the most unique way I have ever seen. Creating a graphic novel without words is so amazing; it really proves that a picture is worth a thousand words. Even before going into the story, I noticed how the book is created like a worn out photo book. Also the inside covers has passport like photos of many different immigrants.

A man leaves his wife and daughter to immigrate to a better place. His hometown is under some kind of danger. The man only has a photo to remind him of his family. He goes by boat to a foreign land. His arrival to the new land reminds me of the immigration stories to New York. There is a statue of two people shaking hands. It is similar to the Statue of Liberty. The statue represents the unity of different cultures because it shows two different men shaking hands. The man goes through countless checkups and questioning before he receives he is permitted entry. He goes around trying to find a place to live with his limited knowledge of the language. What truly helps is his drawings and body language. His room is small just like the old tenement buildings of the lower east side in New York City. He meets other immigrants who share their story with him. Also the immigrants help him around town; they teach him how to use public transportation and what the best types of food are. The man goes around trying to find a job, eventually he ends up in a factory working with other immigrants who he befriends. Eventually he saves enough money to have his wife and daughter immigrate. In the end we see the daughter helping another immigrant that is lost. Immigration is like the circle of life. When one immigrates he receives help from past immigrants. Once he is settles down, he begins to help the new immigrants get accustomed to the land, and the cycle continues.

Tan’s world in the story combines both new and old items. The people’s clothes are old fashioned. On the contrary, the city has futuristic technology not even existent in 2011. There are flying boats used as public transportation and flying mailboxes. The world Tan created does not exist on earth. Tan even created his own language and his own types of animals. I believe Tan does this to show that immigration is a story that can happen to anyone anywhere at any time. I feel that Tan did an amazing job to show such a point. I enjoyed his graphic novel so much, and I believe it truly depicts an immigrant’s journey.

“The Arrival” by Shaun Tan tells a fascinating story that many can connect to by painting pictures instead of using words. This book is the proverbial representation of how a picture is worth one thousand words. I felt as if was in this foreign, yet magical world while I was reading. More importantly, this is a classic tale of what almost every immigrant goes through as they come to America.

Many immigrants leave their home country in search for a better life for their family, but they also face many challenges, and some they can’t overcome alone. It’s natural for the protagonist’s wife and daughter to cry during the beginning when the protagonist/father/husband leaves. He brings a suitcase full of memories. In my opinion, he brings everything he left behind except his family. People only bring essentials when starting over, but the protagonist is too poor and the most valuable thing he can take along is his memories. He stares at the picture which symbolizes a longing for his family, just like most immigrants who go to another country to fund their family to come over or support their family back home. Another challenge is adjusting to the new life. It is always quite a shock. The protagonist is searching for a job and it takes him a lot of time to get one. First of all, there is a language barrier, so he has to gesticulate. It is hard to make friends or get a job if one doesn’t know the language of their new country. Communication problems puts a greater burden on the protagonists’ struggles. Once he finds a job, he almost immediately loses it because he doesn’t know how things work in the new country. Different culture may lead to doing things differently, or it can, again, be a language barrier. After failing multiple jobs, the protagonist, just like many other immigrants, resort to working in an assembly line. Another vital factor in living standard is that the protagonist lives in a small apartment. It is only two rooms big. And the living rooms seems crowded enough with two tables and a chair. By the way, the protagonist had to draw a picture to articulate what he wanted. This shows that the language barrier, although hard, is not impossible to navigate through. All immigrants have to go through tests in the beginning to see if they are healthy enough, must answer questions, fill out a plethora of paperwork, and wait to do all of that with a horde of people waiting on line. I just like to note that when the protagonist is being checked, and questioned, the place is reminiscent of Ellis Island.

As difficult as the struggles are, immigration also can be quite wondrous. The stray animal that the protagonist becomes friend with is very similar to a dog. It is his greatest companion while he is in the beginning stages of living life as an immigrant. Also, while the protagonist gets on a boat, he asks direction of another immigrant who not only helps him, but explains her life story. It shows how everyone struggles, but there will always people helping each other out. The man with glasses and his son are affable enough to share their dinner with the protagonist. He in returns shows they origami, and they show him their talents. The cordial nature doesn’t just pertain to one people, but to many. The old man whose been through war takes the protagonist to this friends to play some kind of game. Cultures and friends are learned through this, and it is also a way to escape from the struggles, or in a way it takes away the struggles. At the end, when a young lady is lost, the protagonist’s daughter helps her out. This exemplifies that the sincerity of helping immigrants adjust to their new life is continuously passed on, from one person to the next. Some people may have never experienced snow in their lives, and it can be a special time for them. It is new and something they never experienced.

As I said before, I kind of wanted to be in the book. The setting looks so surreal. It’s something I haven’t seen before and it makes me feel like somewhat of an immigrant. I am fascinated by it and want to explore and live in it. It is like what many immigrants think of New York City. New York City is this amazing place, where it only exists in the imagination of most. Some people are just dying to go there. I have the same feeling for the setting in the book. A lot of things, like the hot air balloon, and the magnificent gardens, make me feel like I am a foreigner just like the protagonist feels. I think Tan does this on purpose so that the reader can relate to what an immigrant feels like.