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Week Five: Body Talk

A Contract With God
A powerful work of storytelling. Even with how little it visually showed and verbally explained about that time period, the simple yet effective storytelling techniques shed a powerful light into the world of the thirties.  The layout and information on each page stayed true to the essential items needed to convey the story at hand, while the expressions and designs of each character involved were perfectly fitted to that characters particular nature. The flow of the stories themselves was also really interesting. It starts off very regal and true, then gradually starts to slip down into degradation, whizzing past horrible defiling moments, building up into this final orgiastic climax, and then finally ending with one boy “Willie” standing on the edge of his balcony, pausing after being given his new set of family expectations, and reflecting on all that happened over the summer.

Blankets

I love how expressive and powerful Thompsons illustrations are, as well as the way he orchestrates his text, like when the whirring spurr of the furnace wraps itself around the room. Really powerful piece of work.

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