Reading Mental Processes in The Arrival

Abstract

Wordless picturebooks show the possibilities and limitations of visual narratives. Mental processes—such as perceiving, thinking, longing, remembering, and feel- ing—usually call for verbal representation since they cannot be depicted visually, as they are part of the character’s interiority and not of his or her external appear- ance. However, visual narratives find ways to depict these processes by leaving gaps for readers to fill in with their previous knowledge and hypotheses. Framing, the use of close-up, colors, and sequencing, are some of the devices used by the author to convey what is more often expressed through words. This article explores the representational strategies that Shaun Tan uses in The Arrival by looking into responses to the book from a group of native and immigrant children in Catalonia, as recorded in 2008 in the context of the international research project “Visual Journeys.”