Graphic novels are a unique form of literary expression that has emerged as a popular way to narrate stories. In class we have discussed the novel “Daytripper” by Ba and Moon. The story revolves around the live of Bras de Oliva Domingos, who works as an editor for obituaries at a newspaper office in Brazil. Each chapter in the novel tells a story of its own about a different time in Bras’s live, and many of them are not chronologically ordered. The images in the novel utilize different tones of color to semi-consciously convey the story’s gravity, emotions, and meanings to the reader. The following are some representative graphical annotations that illustrate this fact.
The most spectacular aspect of the graphic novel is that the chapters would always end up in Bras’s death, with the subsequent chapter narrating what would have happened if he did not die in the previous chapter. Ostensibly, the book suggests that we ought to be careful in our lives as best as we can since accidental happenings and possible death could always be around the corner at any time. This is quite apparent, since Bras dies from car accidents, drowning, murder, electrical shock etc. in the novel. On a deeper and more analytical facet, however, the novel encourages the reader to reflect on his/her own life. Though one might not notice it immediately, the novel attempts to subconsciously immerse the reader into understanding its deeper meanings. What would change if I died today? How will the lives of other people be influenced by my death? Will I live my life to its full potential before I die? Will I be satisfied by what I have done before I die? Will there be any regrets?
The most intriguing example in the book about the impact, both emotionally and physically, about a friend’s death can be seen by Bras’s reaction when he realizes that Jorge might have been killed in a plane explosion. In fact, Bras becomes so emotional about thinking of Jorge that even the obituaries he constructed for other people were actually written about his friend.
Emotional Bras immersed in pain and depression of the possibility of having lost his best friend Jorge.
In a nutshell, Daytripper not only stunned me with its outstanding pictorial art, but also provoked my thoughts about the meaning of life and death and the impact a sudden change in life can bring to myself and the people that care about me.
