Plot Summary
In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland, bidding farewell to his small daughter and wife. The reader wonders why he must leave his family behind--visual cues hint at economic desperation and other “monsters” that the man must escape. He travels by boat across the sea to a new land where he encounters foreignness all around him. When he first arrives, he is poked and prodded by officials. He tries to communicate in a tongue that he does not speak, relies on gestures, but ultimately cedes defeat. Nothing feels familiar to him in this new place. Tan brings this sense of foreignness to the viewer by showing otherworldly creatures and text on walls and in books in a non-western print. Other aspects of life in the new land also feel strange and unfamiliar to the man--transportation systems, the behaviors of the inhabitants--even the features of the inhabitants. Over time, he forms friendships with other travelers and immigrants to this land--he even befriends some of the fantastic creatures.
Critical Evaluation
This wordless graphic novel is a profound study in how symbols and visual cues can sometimes take viewers/ readers to deeper places than words can. Many aspects of the story are left to the viewer’s imagination which stimulates provocative thinking--what are those monsters that are swirling around the man’s homeland? What might they represent? The viewer thinks longer and more carefully because the answers haven’t been handed to her. The sepia tones that color most of the novel lend a haunted, sorrowful tone to the text while the other-worldliness of the creatures that inhabit this place lend comic relief to the isolation and confusion that permeates much of the man’s experiences. This would be a powerful work to use with immigrant students who could use the graphic novel as a springboard to write (or draw or make a movie) of their “arrival” stories to a new country.
Reader’s Annotation
Sean Tan’s The Arrival is a beautiful, wordless graphic novel that invites its readers into the wonder, sorrow, and confusion of the immigrant experience.
Information about the Author
We learn more about Sean Tan through the illustrator/ author’s website, “Shaun Tan grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.
Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, Tales from Outer Suburbia and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E, and directed the Academy Award winning short film The Lost Thing with Passion Pictures Australia. In 2011 he received the presitgious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, honouring his contribution to international children's literature.”
Genre
Graphic Novel
Curriculum Ties
This would be a good choice to include as part of a unit on Immigration and Emigration.
Booktalking Ideas
Have you ever felt like a stranger in a strange land? Do you know of any stories (your own/ parent/grandparents) of coming to a new country for the very first time? This book tells one such story.
Reading Level
Grades 6+
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why Included?
I included this graphic novel because I find it arrestingly beautiful and thought that it would be helpful for teachers of English Language Learners.
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