Stereotypes In I Kill Giants

I Kill Giants, a graphic novel by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura is about elementary-schooler Barbara Thornson, a cheeky, imaginative, and awkward girl, and how she deals with difficulties at home and school by escaping to a fantasy world where she claims to “kill giants” with her prized hammer Coveleski contained in her purse. Throughout the book, Barbara dons four sets of animal ears: bear, fox, bat and rabbit ears. While wearing the ears she shows certain qualities that the animal has and reflects some of its behavior. Yet, these animalistic qualities reveal a more human and relatable protagonist, who like humans act based on how they feel at the moment. I believe that Barbara’s ears are a visual representation of her demeanorstate of mind, …show more content…
We first see her wear the bear ears after she ran away from Sophia, a new neighbor, who attempted to be friendly. After running away from someone who wanted to be friends, I think, Barbara feels alone. Barbara continues to wear the bear ears until she realizes that Sophia is her friend only after hurting Sophia. Later on, we meet Taylor, the school bully, whom when demanding money from Barbara gets spit instead, causing multiple fights in the future. During one of the fights with Taylor, Barbara, being much smaller, seems to get pummeled by Taylor, unable to retaliate. Until Taylor attempts to take Barbara’s purse, Barbara retaliates with a sudden brute-like strength, reversing Barbara and Taylor’s roles in the fight. This encounter shows that Barbara, like a bear, protects what is hersher stuff and has the means to do so. Anyone can relate to this, as if they have something important to them, they will instinctively try to protect it if someone were to try to take it, just like Barbara and her …show more content…
Here she is not physically blind but metaphorically blind. She builds the giant trap because she sees various “signs” in the sky signaling a giant’s coming, but this time Barbara unsure of what she should use for bait, cuts herself to use her blood as bait. A fairy asks Barbara, “Is that necessary?” and Barbara responses with, “I don’t know”. Showing how she blindly proceeds without caution, this is relatablerelating to humans as how could how could the human race advance if someone didn’t proceed without caution? Like Christopher Columbus would not have found the Western Hemisphere if he didn’t risk his life crossing the Atlantic to try to reach the