For your new blog response, answer the following questions:
What are some themes that you think Chris Ware is trying to explore in Jimmy Corrigan? What are some specific strategies that he uses to explore these ideas? (You can refer to specific techniques that McCloud discusses...or not.)
Reminder:
We will not be discussing the Reading Lolita or Persepolis excerpts until next Tuesday. For this Thursday, you are only responsible for reading Section 3 of JC (pp. 201-304) and this blog response.
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I think Chris Ware was trying to explore how tough it was on James growing up without a mother, and having such a shitty dad didnt make things any better. The time the girl called him a bastard child, when he accepted the italian boy because everyone else did and he noticed it was okay, then having his dad pick him up and beating him because he wasnt allowed over, and not being able to impress the girl he really likes. This was how Chris explored James'resentment, by showing us James' most difficult moments and certain things his dad said to him that obviously had an effect on him overall.
ReplyDeleteI think a commone theme Ware is expressing is the effects of failure in the home. Jimmy comes from a dysfunctional family and it obviously has effected his self esteem and view on life. These is seen through a lot of closure from abuse you have to create the actual scenes in your head from the moments in between the panels (with Jimmy's grandfather). Another theme is how selfish humans can be. You see the victimized characters rely on a fatansy world to cope with the injustices done unto them by the other humans they interact with. Ware uses closure once more with this idea as we can relate our own personal encounters with 'bullies' we have met in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that most practical theme would be abuse. Chris Ware had a really hard childhood and he was abused, and i believe that he is just getting all of his feelings out through this book. I say abuse because through the line of men in the Corrigan family that has been abuse. And even though Jimmy's dad didn't physically abuse him, i feel that him not being there is emotionally abusive.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Jimmy has to deal with all this crap because he comes from such a horrible line of father figures. He is the one who has to put up with it all, jut because all the other men in his family were stupid. I think that he was abused the most, because it is revealed through his character the most out of the rest of the men.
I think some themes that Chris Ware are male/female relationships and father-son relationships. He does this by repetition of events in which he shows each characters interaction with his father and this has a big impact on how each one acted to their own kid. He also continuously shows jimmy's interactions with his mother and how she treats him like a kid even when he is grown up and how he is only comfortable around her. Also how jimmy is not comfortable with other girls and how his line of family men consider women more like property and only good for what they can do physically. Another theme could be communication because it seems like none of the characters are really good at talking to each other and most of their situations are awkward.
ReplyDeleteI think a major theme of this comic is the negative effects of anti-social behavior. Chris Ware shows how depressed Jimmy is and how weak he due to the fact that he never stands up for himself or let alone talk to anyone in the outside world. Another possible theme is the long term effects of abusive relationships. Jimmy's grandfather was abused and he ended up very meek and scared of the outside world. Overall, I think Ware is trying to show many negative effects of everyday issues to maybe improve things.
ReplyDeleteI think that some themes that Chris Ware is trying to explore in Jimmy Corrigan is how males and females react with each other in modern times. At one point in time in history females were seen as respectable and as a, pure type of essence, but now times have changed. They have become corrupt, because the world has become corrupt, well it always has been, but now I think that its in a heightened state with all of the kinds of media that one is exposed to and I believe this has a great impact on the way that males and females see each other. For example, prostitutes are everywhere now, and more frequent in some areas than others, but they are EVERYWHERE! Another theme that he explores is technology and how it affects the people who experience it. As technology evolves, so do we as a human race. We will always be humans, but the more that technology grows the more we become a part of it and I thikn he wants us to understand whtat with each age of technology, we go through a different age as well. One more theme is setting. Setting in this book is a big deal and you can tell because when Ware wants to bring us to another scene or time period he uses one or even two whole pages of the entire scene, some times multiple shots of them.
ReplyDeleteI think an important theme that Chris Ware is trying to portray is the importance of a stabe family relationship. It is obvious that all the Corrigan men did not come from a stable family environment, and it has had a negative impact on them. Also, another theme could be the need for control. Jimmy pretneds to be the smartest kid on earth, and his idol is superman. This shows his need to prove something, and feel like he is strong and smart. In Jimmy's fantasies he pretends he is a more confident, strong person. Although he cannot control his own life, he grasps control through his fantasies.
ReplyDeleteI think that Chris Ware is trying to explore the idea of self-expression and how relationships greatly affect how we see ourselves and how we relate to others. Jimmy Corrigan is a meek and lonely man who has low self-esteem, and this is a result of growing up without a father figure and only with an overbearing mother. This also may have caused him all of his insecurities because he did not have someone to build his confidence as a boy when he was growing up. I felt that his mother kept him too close, thus keeping him from interacting with people his age. Another theme can be the how the traditions/history of a family and its effects can be passed on to the next generations. Jimmy's grandfather was abused as a child, and they have very similar characteristics. He grew up without a mother, and Jimmy without a father. It was as if the history of having a bad childhood was passed on to Jimmy, and this caused him to be who he is in the story. If only his father did not let him experience the suffering that he may have experienced growing up, then things would have turned out entirely differently in Jimmy's life, and the "curse" of having a bad childhood would have been broken.
ReplyDeleteThe author uses a lot of moment-to-moment and action-to-action transition techniques to show the fantasies of Jimmy in the book. He also applies the aspect-to-aspect transition in order to introduce the setting. Lastly, he uses different lengths of panels to show the passage of time and varying sizes of panels to emphasize meaning or to set the mood.
some themes i think the Ware explores is bad family relations, abuse, bad experiences with girls and "friends" and forced solitude. some strategies he uses to explore these ideas are through imagination and detailed images. he draws the pictures with the right sort of facial expressions at the right time and gestures, to give a good illustration of what is happening.
ReplyDeleteI was very intrigued with the way perspective was used on page 273, where it shows James Reed's hiding spot for his memorable things is, in the present time, at a McDonalds, which certainly involves a lot of closure. With the fair coming along during James Reeds childhood, we can see the start of the rush of new technologies as well as the melting pot for different races to embrace. Though we see James Reed's character with racist undertones, it is the same character, about a hundred years later, who helps his black granddaughter with homework. Reading this section has shown me just how different a hundred years can make in this world; through the generations of the Corrigans we can see how technology affects way of life and ideals.
ReplyDeleteI think a major theme that Ware is trying to show is alienation. Jimmy Corrigan has been alienated from people his whole life and has been dependent on his protective mother his whole life. It has taken a very negative toll on him, to the point where he can not really interact with people. We can also see the theme of abuse in the novel. The members of the Corrigan family go through extreme verbal and physical abuse and we are able to see the affect that it has on them.
ReplyDeleteMr. Chris Ware appears to be writing in relation to his childhood. He shows how he, or anyone else, can be negatively influenced by the lack of parental relationship. Ware uses anti-social behavior and shyness to express how Jimmy Corrigan has been affected my not having a father while growing up. In relation to Understanding Comics, I feel Chris Ware has given Jimmy a very abstract looking face so anyone who can relate to the story can easily see themselves in Jimmy's face. While some can't relate to his story, it is very clear that Jimmy is a very messed up person that has little or no adult influence in his life. Jimmy's father seems to be making up for lost time, however Jimmy feels uncomfortable with this and wants to avoid the person that left him during his childhood.
ReplyDeleteI'm still feeling that Chris Ware Theme: is what happens generation to generation is the whole abuse issue. Whether it be emotional or physical, abuse is a learned trait that without intervention of some kind is a never ending pendulum. Within this, comes the withdrawn, shy, confused, loner, emotionally unattached individual. Attributes seen from Jimmy Corrigan already in this book. I think this book may be a way that Chris Ware is trying to heal his own life abuses, by writing them out. His way of reaching out/self-healing/therapy. Him showing how Jimmy's fantasies/daydreams about Superman powers/abilities, the parallel of Superman being able to fly like the birds we see in these scenes. Flying is possibly his way of expressing "get me out-a-here", "freedom", as he starts to return back to the reality he is in, we see the bird flying into the window,trying to return. (pathetic lowly bird/ pathetic lowly Jimmy).Hmm.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Ware is trying to explain to us that even though jimmy is antisocial and awkward why should he have to be any other way. Why do people have to attach such negativity to those characteristics. It seems to me there's quite a few different ways Ware tries to explain this theme. For example, Ware seems to deal a lot with the idea, that overtime things change and things are forgotten. This sticks out to me when he puts in those random pictures that will show a bird chillin on a branch then the branch is just there by itself. It also seems like he's trying to express this by jumping around and changing point of views and whatever. So, just because someones childhood was tragic doesn't necessarily mean that's the reason they act weird. Surely it has an effect because experience shapes who we are but I think he's trying to prove that people who interact with him have just as much to do with his awkward behavior as he does. For instance when he goes to see his dad, his dad acts like he's never missed a beat with jimmy. So, maybe jimmy is thinking his dad is a weird dude because the truth is he's missed too much, so it doesn't make sense to act like he hasn't. But jimmy seems to be able to empathize and goes with it by laughing a little and just listening. He seems to be flexible and able to go with the flow of things... I think Ware is trying to point out that maybe we shouldn't be so assertive with the way we act all the time because we never know who we're dealing with and it's good to be quiet and just observe what's going on. After all there all some crazy people that exist which Ware obviously points out.
ReplyDeleteI think a major theme in Jimmy Corrigan is the effects of bad parenting on a child. James' abusive father abandoned him and Jimmy never met his father until much later. Jimmy and James have similar situations, and the author shows this parallelism by jumping between the story of these two characters. James and Jimmy are socially inept as a result of bad parenting.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Chris Ware is trying to explore many themes in the novel such as life with a broken up family and the abuse of a cruel father. In a broken up family, the amount of support a child receives dwindles and they are left to care for care for themselves most of the time. This can be seen in James Reed Corrigan during his childhood when he has go throughout the day, only seeing his dad at night and is often accompanied with abusive procedures. The second theme that is explored is obviously how an abusive father could affect a child. James’s dad scars his child by being cruel and overly strict on his son. The punishments he receives for being disobedient to his father’s commands seem cruel and inhumane. With all of this abuse, I am not surprised by the amount of confidence James has throughout the day and around people. He often retreats into his imagination to avoid the ridicule and harassment by his father.
ReplyDeleteI think Chris Ware’s main theme throughout this story is dysfunctional families and the affect they can have on a child, or a person. In Jimmies case, this is taken to an extreme but because the theme is so magnified we are able to understands its affects more thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteI think Ware's two major themes are the cascading effect of each father's actions on the next, and how difficult it is for the anti-social James and Jimmy to thrive in the world. To a boy, the father is probably the most influential figure on his personality. It sucks that James and Jimmy had to grow up hating the individual who should be their teacher. James did have good moments though, for meeting Antonio's loving dad seemed to provide a satisfaction and comfort in life he'd never experienced before. The cascading generational influence goes down to Jimmy, whose foil is his supposed sister, who seems to benefit oppositely from Jimmy due to the enriching influence of the now mature James Reed.
ReplyDeleteJames' imaginative nature is highlighted by Ware's use of internal monologue. James's amount of time actually saying things is equal to Ben Wallace's free throw percentage. However, the panels are covered in his thoughts, which seem just as rich as any other character. Too bad the girl he likes can't see his hidden affection, and only that one burst of anger. James probably gets what he deserves for his anger, but I empathize. He has no haven, not even at home with his father, so his mental fantasies do the trick.
One thing I think Chris Wares explores in Jimmy Corrigan is the concept that nobody is above reproach. For example, before reading chapter three, I classified James Reed Corrigan as a helpless victim, and I felt sympathy for him. After reading the chapter, which is full of examples of his bigotry, cowardice, and violence, I no longer felt sympathetic towards him. He was still a victim in relation to his father, but he was also an abuser in relation to others. Another thing that detracts from the character's sympathy in this chapter, is Chris Ware's art.Where before James Reed Corrigan was portrayed as either confused or sad, in this chapter his face is contorted hideously in certain scenes. Even when he cried, I couldn't feel sorry for him, because he was so ugly.(I know that sounds horrible, but it's true.)
ReplyDeleteI think the authors main theme is based on how difficult it is to grow up without a father figure. This could be because Chris Ware was in that situation growing up, or possibly knew somebody in such a predicament. He shows, through the use of character jimmy Corrigan, what life is like, and what a possible turnout of life could be. The dysfuntionalism within Jimmys life from his inability to talk to women and his new, and awkward relationship with his father are prime examples of how Ware displays his theme.
ReplyDeleteChris Ware through Jimmy Corrigan expresses the many relationships that boys face on a daily basis such as: father son relationship (the different generations, and how because of ones childhood affects how they treated their son), school bullying, abuse, anti-social, anger and violent, cowardliness, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think Chris Ware is using this book to explore the feelings of isolation that we all as humans beings face throughout our lives (what McCloud describes as the inability to communicated at full capacity). One technique Ware uses is his repetitive exclusion of the faces of unimportant characters from the panels forcing us to focus and indentify with just the main character for large segments of the story.
ReplyDeleteThe bird motif that crops up occasionally I believe is used to represnt that though time comes and goes some things never change.