Pages 30/31
The frames when Vladek and Art are
talking do not have borders. This is showing that they are in the present and
not in story-telling mode.
In the fourth frame, when the Polish Nazis came to talk to the seamstress, they
are positioned standing over her and they are the main focus of the frame. This
shows dominance and symbolises their significant importance.
In the frame with Miss Stefanska sitting in the prison, the jail bars are in
the foreground and she is in the background, in the dark. This makes the jail
seem dark and scary.
In the last three frames, the characters are drawn black. This symbolises how
they’re having a hushed conversation late one night.
The artist chose to put a question mark as a thought from Miss Stefanska in the
second frame. This is because the artist wasn’t able to draw her face so he
chose to show her expression through symbols.
Pages 34/35
On page 34, in the first frame, the narrative
states that everyone is excited and frightened. The author displays this by
making the font in the speech bubbles big, bold and capitalized with
exclamation marks at the end. This naturally draws the audience’s eyes to feel
their expression.
In the third frame, the Nazi flag is shaded in
to show the importance and dark colour since the book is in black and white.
This also draws the eye of the reader so that they can feel the importance of
the event.
On page 35, in the first frame, in the window in the
background an outline of the pogrom is shown holding all the weapons. This
relates back to the dialogue of a Jew telling the audience what is going on.
The author has made the imagery of the pogrom vague, as it’s only an outline.
This was used to make the reader wonder about the events taking place outside
the train
In the second frame, the main image that is
shown is the Nazi flag. It is shown in big and takes up most of the frame to
draw the eye of the audience. Next to the Nazi symbol, the word Jude is written in “drippy” white
writing against a black background, which is a window. There is also the Star
of David next to it. The font is created to show that this window has been
vandalized showing the anti-Semitism feel
In the third frame, the blown up Nazi symbol is
still the background. In front of the symbol, Nazi’s are shown snickering and
making a Jew hold a big symbol that says, “I am a filthy Jew”. The face of the
Jew holding the sign is not shown, this is because he is facing his head
downwards to show that he feels humiliated
In the fourth frame, the Nazi symbol against a
black background remains the exact same. The size of the Nazi symbol is used to
create a feel of power that the audience can feel. It is to show that the
Nazi’s are the most dominant. In front of the symbol, a large picture of a Nazi
is raising a baton against a Jew who has his arm raised and crying for help.
Next to the pair, another Nazi is dragging away a Jew whilst laughing. This
shows the sadness of the Jews and the dominant cruel power that the Nazi’s
possessed whilst afflicting them
In the fifth frame, the Nazi symbol is still
blown up to show that the Nazi’s are still in power and have left damage to the
town. Therefore, making them win the conflict. There is a banner sign stating,
“This town is Jew free”. Behind the sign, the picture shows deserted houses all
lined up, backing up the statement that the town is Jew free.
The last frame shows a bunch of Jews speaking to
each other on a train discussing the events taking place with the Nazis; their
expressions show the reader that they are worried and frightened. In the speech
bubble, it states that they hope the Germans will not start a war. This also
backs up the Jews facial expressions.
Pages 40/41Frames and Gutters:
These include the positioning techniques of
frame as the pictures of the frame around them and they also have gutters.
These are used to separate the conversations so that the reader does not
confused.
Background:
There was some background, which was the
narration to explain to the reader what was happening other than the dialogue.
Graphic Weight:
The car in one frame is a lot darker to
draw attention to the fact that Anja and Richieu.
Figures/characters:
In the drawings where Vladek is old you can
the lines that show wrinkles on his face making him look older. The spectacles
also help to point this out.
Hands/feet:
Vladek’s hands are always doing gestures to
show how he is trying to explain his story.
Camera angles:
Some frames are longer showing a bigger
picture with the words to the side of the frame showing a long shot. This makes
it seem like an important part of the story.
Pages 48/49
The
author uses the positioning technique of graphic
weight throughout this section of the novel to create a contrast between
Vladek and his Father showing there given personalities. Vladek’s father is
shaded in a heavy black, which is portraying him to be the “bad guy” as he is
starving his son on his own beliefs. Vladek is drawn in a white shade creating
a high contrast between the two characters. The author does this to make the
reader realise that this is Vladek’s father’s choice and Vladek does not agree
with it, making him a victim. Another example of graphic weight is the use of bold, capital letters and size of the
text when Vladek’s father is trying to wake him up. This draws the eyes of the
reader to this part as the bold tone stands out on its background and brings
the readers attention to what’s being said. Special effects lettering is another positioning technique used in
this section of the novel as the used onomatopoeia to reinforce the impact of
the sound being created by the gun. The author uses the background in the second frame on page 48 to give additional sub
textual information to the reader showing that this scene is taking place at
night.
Pages 50/51
In the second frame, Vladlek’s face is shaded because he is trying
to hide in the grass so he won’t be shot by the bullets. The first and second
frames are close ups of his face with the bullets shooting past. This positions
us to feel sorry for him because he is still a real person with bullets flying
past him. The third frame is an image looking through the scope of a gun that
is aiming at the tree. This positions the reader to see what it is like to be
in the war and aim a gun. The thought bubbles tell the reader how Vladek is
feeling and that he is resistant to killing people. The narration is not
included in the frame because he is reflecting on his experiences which
positions the reader to understand that it is a memory in the past.
The graphic weight in the fifth frame communicates the regret
Vladek has from when he killed the man and the difficulty of the situation. The
nazis are holding their guns, looking down at Vladlek which communicates their
power over him. The anthropomorphism of the nazis as cats shows the traditional
role of the cat hunting the mouse which positions the reader better understand
the relationship between Jewish people and the nazis.
In frame 10, the nazis are taller than Vladek which emphasises
their power. The graphic weight of Vladek being shaded shows that the nazis
think that they are more important because they are not shaded.
Pages 58/59
Positioning
techniques are used to show readers how unbearable and hard the camp was. Also
how determined Vladek was to get through it.
Low
angles looking up at soldiers to make the Jews look smaller and the soldiers
powerful.
Mid
shot to show the type of conditions and numbers of prisoners of war
working
Dark
panel to show how important the dream was and to grab readers attention.
Positioning
of heads show the prisoners whispered and had to be careful when talking to
others
The
text explains the work was too hard for some prisoners of war and few could
manage the work.
Special
effects lettering used on the word FREE
The
diagram of the hill shows how hard the job was going to be.
