Graphic Novels

Today we used two different graphic novel versions of Kafka's Metamorphosis to analyze visual representations of the classic. One is illustrated by R. Crumb (of Fritz the Cat) and the other by Peter Kuper. Both are included in my new textbook by Carol Jago et al., Literature & Composition (Bedford 2011). You can find one of the graphic novels through this link:
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/metamorphosis/

Our purpose was to have seniors who have acquired many close reading skills and the ability to interpret details of language apply those same skills to graphics. It was not as easy for this visual generation as I supposed, and I had to help them look carefully at and interpret the following; typography, composition on the page, graphic frames, and representations of the father, mother, sister, boss, and Gregor himself. Slowly, they caught on, and are now in a position to extend their close analysis of details to other genres, such as graphics.

In the end, it was a lesson for me in how to facilitate the transferability of skills, how to walk students through applying analysis to images, and how not to make too many assumptions about this generation of students.