This panel tells us a tragic story. We can all assume that this is Pedro's family and friends surrounding and embracing him. He doesn’t seem to have much time left. Winick made good use of the black and white contrast and the people’s facial shapes and expressions. In Pedro’s picture, Winick makes his face skinnier to give him a sicklier look and the people around him all have a look of somber. It is interesting that he uses only black and white for a comic strip. Much like Pedro’s life, it was just straightforward with no gray areas. Most of the background in the panel is black, showing that things are not going well. However, in the picture with everyone surrounding Pedro, the background is white. Even though the overall situation is bleak, the people around Pedro are bringing positive and loving attitudes; much like the shuttle driver’s at the beginning of the book. The words in this panel are very deliberate. The author uses “…” to show a pause, which adds emphasis onto the particular passage. He wants you to think back to an earlier time in the book. The woman embracing him is a symbol of his mother being with him in life and in death. It also shows that his mother’s dream of the family being together has finally come true. The bed is symbolic because Pedro is in his final resting place. In addition, the people surrounding him symbolize his strength in his time of weakness. I think this panel fits in very well with the rest of the novel since it was the tale of his journey from living with AIDS to up to his death. In addition, he is surrounded with friends and family. This is significant because he feared his family would not be there for him when he needed it most but they were.Work Cited (Winick #148)
I think you guys did a really good job of analyzing this panel. I did not even think about the symbolism with his mother, so I really liked that statement, how is mother had always wanted their family to be together. Very good thought, there. I also like that you added the picture, it made it easy to refer to as you were analyzing it.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment about the entire story being told in black and white. The use of the dark/light backgrounds does as much for the story as the minimal wording does. I think your group covered all the angles on this panel very well. Your final comment about his family being there is important too; we know that Pedro is dying feeling loved and knows he will be missed.
ReplyDeleteYou gave a very good description of this panel. You put a lot of thought into what Judd's meaning was in this panel. I do have one difference of opinion on who is embracing him. Due to the hair style and clothing, it looks to me like Judd is the one embracing him in the picture, not a woman. ;-) This panel also reminds me of Judd's first impressions of an AIDS patient with Pedro's thin frail face like a holocaust survivor.
ReplyDeletereally i dont know who is embracing him. It is only a symbol of his mother.
ReplyDeleteThe analysis here was great. You stated one of the most important facts about this panel; the symbolism regarding his mother. The woman at his bedside comforting him. I also thought that this panel demonstrated Pedro's ability to bring people together, and make friends. He was a likeable person. Also at the end of your paragraph you said Pedro was afraid of his family not being there when he needed them the most. My essay contained the panel where he questions the dedication of his family (Winick#123). This panel you wrote your paragraph about dispells the myth about Pedro's doubt.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am blown away by how good this is. Excellent analysis overall. I really like your attention to detail and how you delve into thorough analysis--you show a willingness to do symbolic analysis here, which is pretty sophisticated. You don't just talk about the theme, which I really like. Superb response.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your expertof this panel. The flow was great! Your group has pointed out a lot od symbolism i missed, such as the black and white comic. I really liked that. And I totally agree! Wonderful job group 3!
ReplyDeleteVERY GOOD! The way you described the mother in the panel was very interesting. I had never even thought about that. From reading this I got a good very good idea about how each paragraph in my essay should be and how I should change it around! You guys did an awesome job!
ReplyDeleteDid you notice that the woman embracing his is also in white like pedro. and that all the others are in shades of black and gray. What do you think this means? I think that maybe it shows that maybe she is letting him that everything is ok and as you said she is a symbol of his mother she was letting him nkow that they would be together soon and everything would ok and the people he was leaving behind would be ok also. They would be sad he was gone but happy that his pain that he felt in his final days would be over.
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a great analysis. The symbol about the mother figure embracing him was something that I hadn't even come close to thinking of. Your group should be extremely proud of the work they did.
ReplyDeletei love that you have the picture of the panel on here. You did a more than wonderful job at analyizing this panel. You really got the feeling and emotion behind this panel across extremely well. You got me really thinking after reading this analysis of this panel.
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