Of Family, Hope, and Freedom: Depicting Immigrant Experience in Shaun Tan's The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel and wordless story of illustrations highlighting an immigrant man's journey told through an imaginary world.

The reader enters a strange new world, participating in the main character's isolation--and ultimately his joy.

As a reader we are evidently drawn firstly to a book who’s title and/or image on the cover excites us. Notably, in Shaun Tan’s graphic novel, The Arrival, the main character experiences the same series of emotions on his immigration journey seeking safe haven.

He eventually finds himself in a bewildering city of foreign customs, peculiar animals, curious floating objects and indecipherable languages. You may have some knowledge of the current immigration issues including refugees and asylum seekers in recent times. Anticipation, heartache, and mystery are only a few of the abundant emotions immigrants feel on their journey to the United States. Perhaps you could read Home and Away by John Marsden and Matt Otley, or talk to classmates, your teacher, or family and friends. In this wordless graphic novel, Tan captures the immigrant experience through clear, mesmerizing images.

We enjoyed following along in the story as the illustrations send powerful messages and emotions. Analysis of “The Arrival”. Fine Details Tan wanted to focus on the fine details of the story; he was very interested on how small interactions would take place in a new or strange country. Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood” Word and Image in Shaun Tans The Arrival. Topics: World War II, World War I, Cold War Pages: 10 (3828 words) Published: March 25, 2014. The Arrival is a migrant story told as a series of wordless images.

A man leaves his wife and child in an impoverished town, seeking better prospects in an unknown country on the other side of a vast ocean. I picked this up for my students a few years ago after hearing a special on NPR about it. The arrival / Shaun Tan.

Image analysis - The Arrival by Shaun Tan. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Arrival (Graphic Novel) by Shaun Tan. An unexpected flatmate (detail), 2004-5, pencil. Ask your teacher for information regarding Australia's history of immigration.

“visual representations are believed to have been part of human society for almost five thousand years” (Graham 1990, The Arrival by Shaun Tan: Analysis of Words and Image in the Book. In fact, through the three-week introduction to a new adventure and literature, I was able to tune into the same feelings … Essays for The Arrival (Graphic Novel) The Arrival (Graphic Novel) essays are academic essays for citation. Using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images, Shaun Tan evokes globally prevalent conditions of multiple immigrants’ experiences through an unprecedented work of artistry. This brilliant book, containing only pictures, tells the story of a father who says farewell to his family and heads out into the great unknown, toting only a single photo of the wife and daughter he …