A Story Without Words
The use of pictures to tell a story is the oldest form of storytelling only second to oral tradition. For Shuan Tan's "The Arrival", the lack of words does not hinder the story. In fact, in enhances it. The Protagonist finds himself, through the majority of the story, in a foreign land where he cannot speak the native tongue. Just as foggy about his whereabouts as he is, the reader sympathizes with his struggle to communicate using only hand gestures and body language.
The way Tan keeps the story flowing through his choice of images is also noteworthy. The square format in which Tan often uses is reminiscent of storyboards, or a filmstrip (hmm, those two things can also meant to tell a wordless story!). The transitions can be thorough and slow, such as describing the monotonous work the protagonist goes through when he gets a job at the factory, in which each illustration is only slightly different from the last. Tan also likes to zoom out of a scene in order to make a transition, and the effect is grand. The reader feels like he/she is getting physically pulled back until they see the grand, fantastic city in which the protagonist is only a tiny part of.
While many short stories are quickly introduced and concluded through flashbacks of characters, the reader does not get lost. With the slight change in color, layout, and "texture" of the pages, the reader can easily follow these interesting interludes of these acquaintances of the protagonist. With something so complicated, Tan's clever transitions back out of these flashbacks are well executed and keep the story comprehensible.
The ending was unexpected. Judging solely on the style and grayscale aspect of the comic, one may assume that the ending will be one of a tragedy. I, for one, expected the man to come a cropper, or find his family had passed away in his absence. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when the ending revealed itself to be upbeat and happy. I might even describe the ending as 'cute' due to it's cyclical nature. Quite a charming and fantastical piece of work.
