Comic < Novel?

PARTIAL SPOILER

As you probably know (because you are probably in my class), we are each studying individual muckrakers.  The one that I was assigned was Jack London, author of "Call of the Wild".   Naturally, I just needed to buy a copy.  Me and my friend Sophie decided to go to my favorite local bookstore, Babbo's Books.  She was looking for Jacob Riis's "How the Other Half Lives," and I was looking for "Call of the Wild".  However, when I could not find a copy, I decided to get the closest thing to it: an old comic version.  I am so glad that I got it.

The main character of the book is Buck, a dog who is sold countless times, going from one owner to the next From a Judge, to a cruel dog seller, to an abusive owner named Françoise, to a kind man named John  Thornton, and finally on his own.  The book is full of emotion and action packed images.  However, compared to the real novel,  it is little more than a pamphlet in size.  I certainly got a story out of it, and a good one at that,  but could it really be just a good as the original? I haven't read the real version, I just bought it from Barnes and Noble today,  But I suppose that I can figure out if compare it to the general, archetypal comics and novels and what they consist of. 

In general, comic books (not including graphic novels), are shorter than novels.  Often the comic book uses the exact words of the novel that it is based on, only it takes out most of the words, therefore not having as much of the store.  (One point for novels) .  However, much of the writing that is taken out is description, which is not necessary in a comic, because most of it is illustrations (one point for comics).  A novel can be read and enjoyed over a very long time, and reread, and it will still be amazing.  A comic, on the other hand, takes about a half hour to read, depending on its size,  and because its hard to miss anything in the text, wouldn't be so great to read again (one point for novels).  In a comic,  the illustrator gives you everything to look at, leaving you no imaginative space, where as a novel gives you at least a little creative legroom (one point for novels).

The scores are three to one, novels winning.  But I got so much out of the comic that I bought!  I thought that it was just as good as any book. But maybe the real book is better.  I've never read the original version of "Call of the Wild".  If it's as good as this comic, I will be pleasantly surprised.  Perhaps comics that are based off of classics are really just aids for reading the original, like if you were having trouble understanding what is going on in the story.  I would love it if there were a comic version of "Great Expectations".  I suppose that a comic is the same idea as going in early to school to ask a teacher a question about something you are having trouble with.   It is a thing to read when you are lost, when you do to understand what is going on.  So I suppose that you really can't compare a novel, because they are totally different things.  its sort of like comparing jello to a jello mold; you don't need a mold to make jello, but if you use it, the jello looks much more impressive.  Novels would be the jello, and comics would be the mold.  there are many other metaphors that I could use, but I would never be able to finish this post.   If you can think of another, I'd love to hear it, so post it as a comment!

Is Love Mutual?

 SPOLER!

Last year, at camp, I remember that I had to tell an eleven year old girl that I didn't have a crush on her. It was probably the hardest thing that I ever did.  The problem was not her age, (although that did factor into it) but that she liked me, but I didn't feel the same way about her.  So that makes me think that love has to be both ways.  Love has to be a mutual thing where both people love each other.

Ms. Havisham and Pip

In the book Great expectations by Charles Dickens, a boy named pip leaves his home every few days because he was hired to play in front of someone named Ms. Havisham.  At Ms. Havisham's house, there is a jaw-droppingly beautiful girl named Estella, who seems only to be there to tease him.  But at almost every visit, Ms. Havisham asks Pip if he thinks she is pretty or if he loves her.  Eventually, Pip leaves Ms. Havisham's, but when he returns, Ms. Havisham says these three quotes to him: "Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces–and as it gets older and stronger–it will tear deeper–love her, love her, love her!"...  "Hear me, Pip! I adopted her to be loved. I bred her and educated her to be loved. I developed her into what she is, that she might be loved. Love her!"...  "I'll tell you," said she, in the same hurried passionate whisper, "what real love it. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter–as I did!"

In short, Ms. Havisham is saying that even is Estella breaks his heart, Pip should still love her back.  but how can he if she doesn't love him?  I imagine that It would be tremendously hard  to give up so much fore one person who does not return the favor.  Pip Would probably give up or get bored over Estella.  How much time can you do something with no result before  giving up?  If Pip were to love someone like Estella, he would have  to give up everything in order to please her.  All of this work, strain, and love would way Pip down.  He couldn't last with out something filling him back up, giving him the energy to continue loving her.  That energy Is Estella's love, which is to valuable for her to give up.  Estella has lived with a woman (Ms. Havisham) for her intire life, who hasn't seen the light of day since her love abandoned her.  From the beginning, Estella has been convinced the love is bad, Men in general are bad,  and that she should never love.  But if someone loves her and she doesn't love them back,  does that really constitute as love?

Back to my example at camp,  When that girl had a crush on me,  I didn't like her as much as she did to me.  there's no problem with liking people, But there are times when you just don't.  I truly hate to be called the Estella in this situation,  but I'm afraid that I was. and yet, we have very differing opinions. I'm okay with love, where as Estella detests it.  I tried to tell the eleven year old that I didn't like her in a way that wouldn't be so cruel,  but Estella would have snapped Pips heart in two before blinking.  But back to my original question,  Is love mutual?  I really think that it is.  If you were explaining to a little kid why people get married, you wouldn't say "because he loves her".  You would say "because they both love each other".  Love is a two way thing,  and I don't think that it's love until both people think of each other in exactly the same way. 

So in general,  people can't just say that it is love when one person likes another. I guess you can sort of make a simplified chart, if that makes it easier:

HATE

LOVE

<-----------------------------------------•----------------------------------------->

<-----------------------------------------•----------------------------------------->

In order for it to be real love,  each person should be placed on a line in accordance to how much they love (or hate) the other person.  If they line up,  it is truly love, but if they do not, the love is not real.  I suppose that this also has to be the same for hate too.  The problem with two people thinking differently about each other is that one person gives up more than the other.  That would be like trading a golden ring for a a piece of tin foil.  Pip and Estella can never truly love each other.  To answer my question, love is mutual.  Probably...