The Arrival

I actually really enjoyed reading the comic of "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan. At a first glance I was a little apprehensive just because there were so many pages but as soon as I got into it I was hooked. I didn't mind how many pages there were because the story was intriguing to me. 

I actually enjoyed that there were no words in the comic and it was simply pictures. I think one of my favorite pages was the one with all of the clouds. I think that it really showed time and distance well with all the different kinds of clouds the character was seeing on the ship.

I really liked that it touched on what it's like from an immigrant's standpoint showing the struggles and all of the work it took to acclimating to somewhere new and foreign. I was confused at some parts in the beginning but I think that was intentional because the character was also confused. Everything was in a different language than what he was used to and the foods were so different. I also liked the additive of what a sort of pet would look like in the new world because it was super adorable. 

I think even though there were no words to the comic it was so easy to read because it touched on things that we could relate to in our lives. Even if someone didn't necessarily experience the adjusting of coming to a new world, they would be able to relate based on what they've learned about the history of immigrants. Another way to understand would be if the reader had ever gone to a different country or part of the world that has different languages than what they're used to hearing, speaking, or writing and how it can be confusing at first but with the right help things can become easier to understand. Some things that I specifically related to was the idea of the pet of sorts, making new friends based on similar struggles and backstory's, and also the letters and keepsakes from back home.

I really appreciated the time put in to make the whole comic look historical and worn as if it had been passed down from generation to generation. I also liked that for the most part everything was black and white aside from coloration of the page to make it look older and well used.

The ending was very touching and I like all of the small details that went into the last few pages. I liked how the paper crane from the beginning transitioned to being a paper creature from the new world. I think the ending was really nice just to see that all of the main character’s hard work and sacrifices were worth it in the end to be reunited with his wife and daughter and helping them adjust to the new world too. I also really liked that the ending kind of came full circle back to where the beginning had started as if it could just be looped around and start again but from a different immigrant's standing.