American Splendor

Throughout history, the human species have not always been able to read or write. One thing humans have always understood are pictures. The cavemen painted on walls in order to document and tell the stories of their lives. In the more modern era, books, especially for children, are filled with pictures in order to help convey the ideas of the writer to all who read his books. This idea of pictures to help support book is shown very well in Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco’s book Days of Destruction Days of Revolt. Sacco, the one in charge of the illustration, does a fantastic job of presenting visuals to the story and helping show the true emotion of the oral history of the book. First of all, Sacco uses his illustration to tell the oral part of history that they have discovered while researching four impoverished towns in the United States. He devised a way that allows him to draw who he saw, yet write what that person said to him. This is all done in a comic book style , but does not feel the same as a child’s comic book or the funnies page in the weekend newspaper. For instance, in the chapter Days of Revolt, Sacco and Hedges are talking to Michael Red Cloud and listening to the story of his life (24-37). The book then cuts away to the comic style allowing the reader to be able to see the flashbacks, but the reader is still able to see the face of Michael Red Cloud making it seem more personal. Being able to see his face with the words creates emotion for the reader to fully…

for someone who wants to want to make a career in drawing. Like a graffiti artist trying to get famous for vandalism. Also I don't know of many comic book artists but I do remember my first time seeing Crumb’s work in a coffee table book and it definitely stuck with me. Months after seeing the book i saw his work online and recognized his vulgar works. I also think his style is always progressing he does stick to one style he has stories of cats and drawing of people and they all us a different…

Balcita goes over similar issues, though on a less broad scale. Using her father’s experiences of immigrating from the Philippines to the United States, Balcita creates an engaging and relatable picture of the subtle moments of integration, while also illustrating how the great American hypocrisy affects this transition. A great example of this comes from two paragraphs discussing her father’s first job at a blood bank. The job is temporary, as he’s trying to get official certification to be a…

The 761st Tank Battalion was formed in the spring of 1942 and was the essential African American tank unit to see fight in the Second World War. Telling this regiment was a white Lt. Colonel, Paul L. Bates. As the unit fell under the examination of other white officers who were distrustful of blacks as warriors and especially as tankers, Bates pushed the 761st in its main goal for splendor. The 761st was suggested as the "mutt" unforeseen which inferred the power, similarly as other white…

“All sadness vanished in the midst of these old friends of mine,” (Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table 120) Holmes in this rendition of his first novel Holmes does not stray from his humor, but instead of laying the humor on thick Holmes rations it into relatable portions that struck nerves in the American psyche (Critical Survey of Poetry 1789). “Yes, odd things come out in ways that nobody thinks of” (Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table 41), and the joy in Boston and throughout the nation came about…

“Let’s just be honest. Let’s just be real. Let’s just be honest. We all know the deal. Let’s just be honest. Let’s just be real” is a popular duo song performed by African American female artist knows as Dej Loaf Ft. Kid Ink. It climbed the charts upon its release in 2015. Many young people enjoyed this fresh new track with its hip sounds and exotic beats. But the common theme in this song is “Honest” but what does honesty mean? Merriam-Webster defines honesty as, “the quality of being fair and…

In this country called America, the citizens of this great country have this desire or need to always want more then they have. Since this country was started long ago there has been this thing everyone referrers to as the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that any man or woman can achieve prosperity, happiness, and success through hard work and determination. F. Scott Fitzgerald in the short story “Winter Dreams” uses the character Dexter to illustrate the point of the American…

Scott Fitzgerald was being facetious in titling his novel The Great Gatsby. The sarcastic tone of this title is again evident in the assessment of the author and narrator's general views towards people like Gatsby. By providing this irony, Gatsby's character is even more so heightened because there is a reflection of an even stronger idea of false glamour to add onto that revealed in the text. The irony of the title of this book is another thing that makes it so great and out of the…

Though many a critic of texts finds debates pertinent towards authors’ meanings to be up for debate on a high level, one cannot ignore the pounding text agendas of Toni Morrison. Morrison touches on every means by which she is desirous for those works of hers to receive reading, besides every message of hers meant to be conveyed towards readers, using respect achieved from authoring and positing to reinforce every intention of hers. By way of every work of hers, both the fictional and the…

Cinematic depictions of real life can sometimes be a bit fantastical or outside of what is seen as normal way to display story that holds some truth about reality, but it has always been that way, only in different form, in the early 1900’s there was The Great Gatsby in book form, that showed the American Dream and materialism has stemmed from it but now that we have the capabilities to produce realistic visual depictions people are weary of accepting cinematic depictions as credible. In recent…