Shaun Tan's - The Arrival

Essay by mattskibaHigh School, 10th gradeB, April 2008

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The man packs a picture of his family in his suitcase. He and his wife look very sad. We then see the family leaving the house for the father's departure and there is a shadow of a dragon's tail dominating the page and the double page. He gives his daughter a bird which is a symbol of hope and contact. His wife cries and he leaves on a train. We then see the mother and daughter walking up a street with the shadows of the dragon in the background.

I IWe see the man cramped up in his small room on the ship and how so many others are doing the same thing as him. We then see the ships miniscule size compared to the sea and clouds showing how vulnerable it is. There is then a series of clouds drawn. Next we see a drawing of an original painting called "Going South" depicting how poor the conditions on the ship were.

He then writes a letter and sends it off. We see many letters being sent in the form of a bird showing the number of people doing this. We see them arriving at their destination looking out at a futuristic city in a hazy mist dominated by two large figures shaking hands. He then tries to get a passport where he is completely overwhelmed by everything but eventually gets it. He is sent off into a suburb which looks like an industrial area. He sees other immigrants there and asks one of them where a place is to sleep. He helps him and shows him a place. Once in the room he is overwhelmed by all the new technology and things he had never seen before. A rodent looking animal jumps out. It could be a symbol of...