The Arrival

     The Arrival. This is a very interesting book to try and figure out. Mainly because it has no words. A book with words? Oxymoron? Maybe. But it is also what makes this book stand out and shine amongst all the others. It is very unique. However, it still does a great job of getting its message through.
     At first glance everything seems somewhat normal except for giant tail shadows. Then you see the animals. Are they animals? The animals of that world? All of the animals seem to be either black or white. I wondered if this could hold any signs, but I don't think the colors seemed to be of any significance. Just the way the author seemed to draw. But one weird thing is that I noticed is that when you see the giant tail shadow in the beginning it is the same tail of one of the cat-like creatures that you see later in the book. I wonder if that could mean something too...
     Also nothing can ever seem to be bright and cheerful for more than three or four frames. Everything will be sunshine and then BAM! People getting murdered in war against giant robot-like things. Then after that, everything will go back to medium level, then cheerful for a few frames, then death and murder and slavery. Why would the author put this in the book? Why does the mood shift around so quickly? This is probably something to figure out if you have lots of time to test theories and look at the book a lot. But I think it is so that it reminds the reader of the world that the main character lives in. That's what I think.
     And finally the big question that everyone asks. What was the book about? Many, many, many different ideas could be applied to this book. The most simple one seems to be a man going into a new country (book makes this new place similar to America) trying to make him and his family a better life than the had in Europe probably. But this book can also be placed with hope and freedom. Seeking anew. Restarting. This book can be about so many different things. I think the main idea is hope. The book always pulls itself out of the darker frames and into the lighter ones. The main character finds new people and tries new foods. He gets a job in the hope that his family will one day be able to join him in this new land.