The rags to riches story is a quintessential part of
American story-telling because it embodies what was thought to be the American
dream. Characters with ambition and determination would improve their
impoverished lives because of the remarkable opportunities the country had
given them. These kinds of characters give readers reason to hope and dream for
success. Jimmy Corrigan, simply put, is not one of these kinds of characters.
He lacks ambition and truly only gives the reader reason for pity and despair.
The despair contained within the book is foreshadowed especially clearly, I
believe, when Jimmy fantasizes about the Superman who jumped off the skyscraper
and fell to his death. The pictures show the jump and the reactions of the
people watching (all of whom do nothing to call for help or examine the body).
Meanwhile, Jimmy is on the phone with his mother. This was a scene that I was
continually reminded of throughout the book, particularly in the scene where
Jimmy fantasizes about almost having sex with a woman until he calls her a
“cock-tease whore”. I also found a parallel to the scene where Jimmy is inside
a doctor’s office and notices a bird flying outside, Jimmy then imagines
himself flying outside, until the bird hits the window and kill itself. Jimmy’s
fantasies aren’t even really fantasies. They all begin as one might expect a
fantasy to begin, but end with rather shocking and crushing events. He is an
extreme pessimist and lacks the ability to take joy in anything. Prior to this
book, I had no experience with graphic novels or comic books of any kind, but
the impression I had of them was they were exciting and inspiring, American
Dream-ish stories. The “superman scene” early on shatters these preconceptions.
The superman scene shows that there are no superheroes who can save Jimmy from
his depressed life. And the inability of superman to fly shows how constricted
Jimmy feels, and immediately points to one possible stressor: his mother, whom
he is having another irritating phone conversation with. Not only does the
superman falling represent Jimmy’s own inabilities, but Jimmy’s reaction to it
does as well. The bystanders simply watch to see if he gets up, and when he
doesn’t most of them dissipate. Jimmy does as well, all he does is watch helplessly,
at which point the reader realizes that Jimmy truly feels helpless in all his
endeavors. In all of his encounters, he is a bystander. He has no discernible
responsibilities, except for his mother, whom he seems to have a hard time
keeping at bay. So the superman scene shows that Jimmy is not a character worth
rooting for, but rather one certainly worth pitying. And I believe the pity
that is evoked for Jimmy is the essence of the book’s “Emotional Core” as Ware
and Raeburn referred to it. One is not necessarily relating to or rooting for
Jimmy, but at the very least he evokes pity. So it is possible that Ware was
successful in his mission; he was able to write a book about nothing while
still having an emotional center, even if it is one that make you feel
terrible.
This commentary on the nature of Jimmy’s fantasy world is extremely insightful. Even at the opening of the story, Ware sends a clear message to readers that his story will not follow the typical paradigm of the comic book genre.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, a young Jimmy Corrigan and his mother travel to a car show where Jimmy is given the opportunity to meet “The Super-Man.” This scenario is a parody of the classic “boy meets superhero” story. In the usual model, a young boy briefly meets the hero he idolizes, and this hero offers him profound words of wisdom and support or defends him in a moment of need before their encounter comes to a quick end, leaving the young boy and the reader alike with a sense of hope. However, Ware extends this encounter between boy and hero. Though “The Super-Man” defends Jimmy against his mother’s harsh words, he goes on to ask her out on a date. After removing his superhero guise and spending the night with Jimmy’s mother, the man makes an early exit the next morning as Jimmy is eating breakfast. On his way out, he instructs Jimmy to tell his mother that he “had a real good time,” and gifts Jimmy the mask from his superhero costume. This encounter leaves readers feeling awkward and a bit dejected as they empathize with Jimmy and his mother. The act of leaving behind the hero’s mask is symbolic of Ware leaving behind the idea that epic acts of bravery and justice are characteristic of the comic book or graphic novel style of fiction. Instead, Jimmy Corrigan’s story is one of the unmasked realities of the day-to-day, boring and depressing as they may be.
I agree that Jimmy´s story is basically the antithesis of the American dream. He is definitely not Superman—he´s life is incredibly dull and isolated and he seems to have little volition to change this depressing existence. In fact, his life is so saturated in despair that even his fantasies (his dream world where anything and everything is possible) are dark. With that in mind, one of the most interesting scenes in the book to consider is the one in which Jimmy fantasizes about telling his son the story of how his dad´s car got stolen. For me this scene was so intriguing because fatherhood is something I never would have guessed that Jimmy aspired to. Because we see how pitiful Jimmy´s life is and the long legacy of the misery that´s apparently been handed down from one Corrigan to the next, it seems strange that Jimmy would still want to have a son and bring him into that cycle. Stranger still are the panels that follow in which, as a result of Superman throwing their house, Jimmy´s son is torn to pieces. Jimmy´s son ends up as a disembodied head on the ground crying out in pain. In the last panel Jimmy throws a brick at his son´s head, ostensibly killing him. For me the most disturbing part of this whole exchange is that Jimmy´s actions are portrayed in more of a merciful rather than horrified light. The images suggest that it was only humane—the boy was in pain and had no chance of recovering, so Jimmy ended his suffering. I think this fantasy can be taken as a metaphor for Jimmy´s life in general. It´s as though he really does hope to have a “normal” life, but that he realizes that for him it isn´t possible or advisable. So throwing that brick on his fantasy-son´s head was really Jimmy recognizing that he is powerless to break the cycle of misery and misfortune that has plagued his family for generations.
ReplyDeleteAs discussed in class, many scenes start out positive and then abruptly take a turn for the worst. A number of scenes begin with a sense of hope and then lead to unfortunate and unpredictable endings. Pages such as the one Nick mentioned represent the theme of hopelessness in the novel. The outcomes of Jimmy’s situations make me empathize with him but only to a certain extent. When Jimmy’s dull life is constantly highlighted, I empathize with him because no one wants to live a life alone. However, at the same time, people in some way are reliant on themselves to solve their own problems, and this is something Jimmy Corrigan does not do. While he is by no means living the American Dream, he is the typical American. Many Americans are trapped within their day-to-day routine. They go to work, call their moms, and then go to bed day after day. While some may not like to admit it, most people have quite disturbing fantasies and daydreams just as Jimmy does. However, the difference is we do not see our daydreams physically in front of us as we do in this novel. In addition, many people in America continuously wait for other people to solve their romantic, financial, and family issues. Ware represents this sense of waiting through the superhero character. Whenever he appears, Jimmy finds a sense of hope followed by disappointment when the superhero fails to help him. Ware uses these scenes to suggest that Americans need to stop waiting for other people to solve their problems. I think Jimmy represents typical Americans and their common self-condemnation and loneliness. Jimmy Corrigan is not the depiction of the American Dream, but the American Reality.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth is the exact opposite of the American dream. Jimmy is a fairly ordinary guy though he is clearly more pathetic than an average person. He grew up in a household comfortably with a single mother like many children do in America. He works a general office job each day and calls his mother several times daily at the nursing home where she lives. For the American dream to be represented in Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Jimmy would have to go from this pathetic state to something better. Throughout he novel, the reader hopes for Jimmy to take a stand and make and change for the better in his life and I believe part of the reason this book is so depressing is that he never does. He continues to silently take whatever is given to him by the other characters in the book, never defending himself, even when Amy pushes him off the bench for trying to comfort her. Jimmy’s disturbing day dreams are only a small part of the nightmare. The real nightmare is Jimmy’s satisfaction with the way his life is and his unwillingness to change it.
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