Show And Tell Literary Analysis

Showing and Telling About Language

From hieroglyphics to modern communication, imagery and words have always been total opposites, while simultaneously one in the same. Show and Tell, by Scott McCloud, discusses this natural connection one makes between language, imagery, and words and the methods through which comic artists express this connection. The piece appears in his graphic essay Understanding Comics, prompted by McCloud’s experience as a comic artist and reader. Show and Tell specifically intends to educate the reader on graphic novels. Exploring various comic styles, demonstrating the connection between words and imagery and their connection to communication/language. To express his purpose the author exercises four primary rhetorical
Panels one through fourteen show a young boy, “Tommy”, who describes the toy he’s brought along for show and tell - using words and action interchangeably. The toy, rather than explained to be, is demonstrated to be a transformer; in fact, six of the panels are left without dialogue. Later McCloud reveals that he is “Tommy” reflecting on the experiences of his youth, the panels are a flashback to establish the natural connection one makes between words and imagery. Through this method McCloud also unintentionally establishes his own experience with language. Naturally, this leads the reader to trust the reflections made on language in Show and Tell. All sixteen panels demonstrate McCloud’s illustrative ability; the polished and defined art style leads one to believe that not only is McCloud experienced but successful. Again, leading the reader to trust McCloud’s opinions, and to a greater extent his essay, on language. Consequently, without establishing some sort of experience with language and comics McCloud would have failed to capture a number of
McCloud exploits this when exploring the various styles of comics, as discussed in paragraph four. Page 742, as pictured, is a specific instance where McCloud uses illustration to discuss the comic style of “Word specific” writing. As shown, the ?????//?. By illustrating the comic style the reader is allowed a greater understanding of said style. Additionally, McCloud’s own consistent art style allows the reader to juxtapose it against the given comic methods. The general illustration of the piece itself is a clever appeal made by the author. Discussing the relationship between words and imagery through a graphic novel is insightful; McCloud fully aware of his essay’s place in the world of comic art. The illustration of the piece is ultimately the strongest and most successful method of describing the connection between words and imagery. An entirely written piece exploring art styles would have been redundant and far less efficient.

Body: Informative tone
Show and Tell is an educational piece, meant to teach the reader. McCLoud enforces this theme when discussing comic creating methods; he exercises an elevated diction along with descriptive examinations of the aforementioned writing methods
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