Theme Of The Viewer By Gary Crew

The illustrated text “The viewer” by Shaun Tan and Gary Crew tells the story of the curious protagonist, Tristan whose obsession with random artefacts lead him to discover a corrupt view master, in which depicts horrific events of our own history. The protagonist and responders are lead to make several discoveries in which force a re-evaluation of modern society and their attitude towards the world.
The theme of urban disintegration and wastefulness is explored throughout the text. The use of the simile “arched like a yellow moon about the warehouses and factories” emphasises the extent to which the dump that “Stretched over acres of drift sand” has grown. Thus this also emphasises the juxposition between the dump and the “warehouses and factories”. The contrast between the two highlights how more is produced whiles our waste continues to grow, in which suggests human wastefulness and allows the occurrence of a discovery. The waste, which symbolically represents modern society, is vividly depicted in the phrase “off-scour of a careless people”, thus suggesting urban disintegration. This allows responders to reflect on their discovery of the replicable and destructive nature of modern society and begin to re-evaluate their attitude in relation to the world.
The use of syntax through the isolation of the phrase “the first disc had changed” emphasises the haste and horror felt by the protagonist as he discovers the almost alien nature of the view master when the discs change to images of death and historical events of human collapse, depicted through illustrations. This confronting discovery made by the protagonist lead responders to furthermore reflect on the disasters in history and generate new