Literary Elements in Graphic Novels

Set up a page for Cornell notes. Your notes will be collected and

graded at the end of class.

What is the key difference between graphic novels

and traditional literature? In traditional literature (novels, poems,

plays, etc.) the author’s skill is expressed entirely in words

In graphic novels the writer and artist(s) skills combine to express meaning through words and visual information

We understand literary elements in graphic novels through words and pictures

Plot

The plot is the action of the book. Plot is what happens in the story.

Example: Roger killing Piggy is part of the plot of Lord of the Flies

PlotExample from

Ultimate Spider-Man

Symbolism When an author uses objects or events to represent an idea

Example: In Lord of the Flies the conch symbolizes order and civilization

Symbolism

Example from A Contract with God by Will Eisner

What do you think the rain symbolizes?

Setting The place and time period where the book takes place

Example: The setting of Lord of the Flies is a tropical island during World War II

Setting

Example from Palestine by Joe Sacco

The setting of this scene is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza strip

Tone Tone is the emotional atmosphere, the mood of a book

The tone of Lord of the Flies becomes increasingly serious and frightening as the book goes on

Tone

Example from Powers by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

Characterization Characterization is how

we learn about what kind of a person a character is

We learn about characters from 3 things: What the author says

about them What they say and do What other characters

say about them

In graphic novels we also learn about characters from how they are drawn. Often, the picture gives us the most information about a character

Characterization Example from Fables by Bill

Willingham and Lan Medina

Theme Theme is the main idea of a book, the message the author wants to convey to readers

The theme of Lord of the Flies is that humans are more savage than civilized

Theme

Example from Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima

One of the themes of this series is the ability of one strong individual to stand against many

Summary

At the bottom of your Cornell notes write a brief summary of your notes. What’s the main idea of what you learned today?

Classwork

Choose three literary elementsFor each one discuss in at least three full

sentences how the author or artist of the graphic novel you’re reading develops it.

Be specific! Make sure to include the title and creators of the book you’re using.