Graphic Novels

My familiarity with graphic novels was very limited before coming to EWU. Since coming to EWU, I have read many graphic novels, many of them were assigned in Dr. Green's classes. I find that they can hold just as much meaning as other novels, and often times can be even more expressive because they allow for the chance for the author or illustrator to create pictures not just with words, but with colors and pictures too. Graphic novels can be left open to the interpretation of the reader as well as key the reader in one important parts of the story that the reader may have otherwise overlooked. Something as simple as looking at a character's expression in the story, could change the way that the reader thinks and feels about that character, or perhaps even change the whole story for the reader.

I find that the most interesting part of reading a graphic novels is the colors. True, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think it's very important to stop and think about what the colors in the pictures could be telling the reader. Why did the author or illustrator choose to put green where they did? Or red where they did? Was it to show love, or passion, or was it to strike fear in the reader? Maybe the author or illustrator decided not to use any color, and it is important for the reader to understand and be thinking about why the author or illustrator would make that kind of a choice.

I think that graphic novels should hold more of a place in a secondary English classroom. Their use for understanding and thinking about literature is very important. They provide, as I stated before, a great way for the reader to be thinking about why the author or illustrator did what they did in the story. Graphic novels can also be an easy read, which is something that can be great for getting students who have not yet fallen in love with literature started down that path toward loving it. Every students learns and is sparked in a different way, it is important for graphic novels to hold their place in the classroom, and for students to understand how to read them, because that very well might be what sparks a students interest in English, and if it weren't for graphic novels they may have not had that opportunity.

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