Bibliography
Ball, David.
Kuhlman, Martha. Comics of Chris Ware.
University Press of Mississippi, 2010. Web.
This source is used to help give a general description and
critic from some of Ware’s peers. It helps to tell what they think about the
instructions section and why they thought it was included.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comic The Invisible Art.
New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. 1994. Print.
I used this source to reference the type of transitions Ware
uses in his exam portion of the instructions. I can also use it to explain in
more detail some of the other types of transitions Ware uses throughout the
instructions and in the book.
“Building
Stories.” Random House. Penguin
Random House, n.d. Web. 8 November 2014.
<http://www.randomhouse.com/book/185702/building-stories-by-chris-ware#praise>
This source gives a quote from another graphic novelist, and
how they think Ware’s book changed their profession and how they needed to
approach their own work.
“Talent."
Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talent>.
I needed to use this source to show how
Ware was trying to make the reader feel inadequate while they were working
their way through the instructions.
Ware, Chris. Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. New York City: Pantheon
Books, 2000. Print.
This was the
book I am writing about so there are direct quotes taken from the instructions
section and other areas of the book are referenced.
I will be
adding a few more sources when I started making the final additions to the
project.
Description
When Ware
wrote the instructions for Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid
on Earth, he wrote
them in a way to insult the reader and test there patience before they started
the novel to ensure they could handle the complex graphic novel he
created. If someone could get through
the tough to understand and condescending instructions, they would be well
prepared for what they faced next. The
instructions vetted readers to weed out any unworthy or unprepared readers
before they embarked on the journey with Jimmy Corrigan through the novel.
A counterargument to my argument is
to say that Ware simply wrote the instructions in the only way he knew how, and
did not feel like changing his style of writing to fit want the reader
expected. He did not want to cater to
the reader in any way when he was writing the instructions, and simply included
them for the seriously interested readers who may want to understand the
graphic novel on a different level than the average reader. Also, Ware may have
tried to include something that other authors in his genre have not considered
to do before, so he was unsure how to actually write the instructions. He could
have simply been the first to try something like this and did not have any
guidelines to follow, so he wrote in a way that he understood and a way that
was natural to him, although it is very unnatural for an average reader.
My argument is valid to the reader
so they understand what Ware’s intentions were in his instructions and how they
should interpret some of the small details he includes. There is an immense
amount of instructions on the first two pages of the book, that in all honesty
need their own set of reading instructions to fully comprehend the significance
of each part included. It is information overload when you first open the
cover, and can really turn some people away from attempting to read the book
before they reach scene one. My argument
prepares the reader for what to expect when jumping straight in to the complex
and confusing writing style Ware used.
Revisions Needed
I plan to keep most of the parts of
my second revision, except for the last few paragraphs where I lost focus on my
argument. I believe the detailed
description of what is going on in section four is important in a overall
understanding of the general instructions included. This sections goes into detail about exactly
how Ware expects the reader to interpret the most simple illustrations, which
can them be applied to more complex illustrations.
In addition to what I currently have
started in my second revision, I plan to take into consideration the other
sections included in the rest of the general instructions. Although, it may be
difficult to include every section, I will at the very least include section
two and section three along with what I have already covered. This gives a complete argument with more
supporting evidence as to why Ware wrote the instructions the way he did and
how we, as an interested and curious readers, can use them to our advantage
rather than letting them frustrate us before we begin reading.
Outline
1. Introduction and Thesis Statement
2. Develop Argument for Ware’s
Inclusion of Instructions
a. Brief Overview of Section 1
through 5
3. Detailed Description of Section 1
a. Why the Brief History Matters
b. How to interpret the meaning behind
the section
c. What it relates to in the book
4. Detailed Description of Section 2
a. Why Ware is being condescending
towards the reader
b. How to interpret the meaning behind
the section
c. What it relates to in the book
5. Detailed Description of Section 3
a. Describe why Ware is giving the
reader a role for the book
b. How to interpret the meaning behind
the section
c. What it relates to in the book
6. Detailed Description of Section 4
a. Talk about how to read/take the
exam
b. Tell why Ware felt he needed to
include this
c. How to interpret the meaning behind
the section
d. What it relates to in the book
7. Address Counterarguments
a. Cite any sources that confirm my
argument
b. Link parts of the instructions to
difficult to read parts of the book and explain how the instructions are geared
to help you through those particular parts.
8. Conclusion & Summary
a. Relate any relevant parts of the
book back to the instructions and confirm my argument.
Jared,
ReplyDeleteI really think you have a good topic proposal going here! Your argument is very well thought out and I can tell you have already worked hard on what you want to say for your final paper. I think your counterargument is also strong, I would however make sure you do not tackle too many sections of the instructions. Having too many reference points in the instructions could confuse the reader; your thesis could also get lost among too many small details so just make sure you are connecting back to your argument once and a while. I really like point B in your section 7 (address counterarguments) and I think you can elaborate on that and carry that link throughout the rest of your paper! If you plan on using and referencing many of the sections in the instructions, make sure your conclusion is strong so that everything gets tied together for the reader in the end.
This sticks too close to the previous revision, and keeps too many of its problems. You don't want to stay bogged down in an endless description of what the instructions say. What you should be doing is working harder at figuring out how they matter. What does Ware's hostility toward and mockery of the the reader in the introduction *do*? How does it impact our reading of the book? Avoid generalizations - find ways of focusing much more upon other parts of the book - in other words, show us *where* and *how* the instructions should have an impact on our interpretation. Are there particular parts of the book where they are important? This proposal comes close to describing what you shouldn't want to do, which is just do the revision over again: find a way to develop it to clarify and focus your argument through a more detailed reading of the text (not just the introduction itself, but other specific parts of it).
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