ANALYZE Use the basic features.

A WELL-TOLD STORY: USING CARTOONS TO SHARE AN EXPERIENCE

In The Daily Grind, Roy, like other cartoonists, uses drawings to enhance — and often to stand in for — written descriptions of actions, people, or thoughts. She also uses (implied) word balloons instead of speaker tags for dialogue, as well as separate frames and subtle changes in the character details to convey new scenes or the passage of time. Even though the conventions that she follows are different from those followed by writers of purely textual narratives, Roy creates a compelling story of a remembered event.

Analyze & Write

  1. Write a paragraph or two analyzing Roy’s use of cartoonists’ techniques to tell a story:
  • How does the cartoon characterize the relationship between the author and her mother? How would the reader’s experience have changed if Roy had told the story solely in words?
  • Look over all the drawings in the cartoon, especially the larger frame on the bottom left. What do the drawings convey that words don’t or can’t? Conversely, does the cartoon leave you with any questions that would have been more satisfyingly answered in words?

Question

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2. Analyze & Write