English Task 6. Question 3. Every Aspect of a visual Text is constructed to have an effect on its intended audience.

Argue how this is applicable or not to Matt Ottleys Requiem for a Beast Every aspect of a visual text is constructed to have an effect on its intended audience. A graphic novel is a novel whose narrative is conveyed through a combination of text and art. Throughout Matt Ottleys book Requiem for a Beast this concept is applicable. Requiem for a Beast was written for young adults to adults yet surprisingly it received Childrens Picture book of the year award. The author uses many varied pictures and images portraying different scenes to represent specific values and attitudes. Some of the techniques used in the images in this book are; colour, lighting, shading, layout, font size, font type and symbolism. Images are not the only way this visual text portrays values and attitudes, novel structure is also used and the text is structured into 4 main parts. Some of the themes, values and attitudes portrayed throughout the story are the stolen generation, dealing with ones demons, loss, separation, guilt and forgiveness. The Stolen Generation and dealing with ones demons are some of the most predominant issues that are explored in this book. The story follows the psychological change of a boy aged about 17-18 as he heads up North to work on a station. It follows his thoughts about the aboriginal culture and how he copes with his past and battles the demons that are inside of him. Throughout the story the reader is given insights into his thoughts and what he feels about the native aboriginals and how he feels somewhat guilty about the stolen generation and also about what happened with his father and the young aboriginal boy. One of the visual techniques that has been used to great effect is colour, shading and lighting. Colour in this book helps to portray themes, values, attitudes, mood and feeling. Colour is coupled with shading as well to provide a clearer view into the idea being pushed across to the audience. In almost every image in the book colour and shading have both been used to a great extent. An example of this is shown in the image of the Bull/beast on page 15. This image shows what looks to be a bull but is described in the text only as The beast. This beast appears to be enraged about something, the eyes are focused and the mouth is open in either a roar or a snarl and the teeth drip saliva. Surrounding the beast is red; this red is depicting anger, violence and rage. This reinforces the mood of the image towards the reader. Another example of colour used in the text is in the opening pages of the book. In these images all it depicts is a somewhat barren landscape characterised only by a few trees, hills in the background and large clouds, the entire image however has a dark look to it even though its a much lighter version of the next few images. On the next two pages is the same landscape, only in the top half its gotten notably darker and on the bottom half its gotten darker again, suggesting that something bad is coming, as darkness can represent something grim. The next two pages are again, the same landscape only this time the top half of the pages is again a darker version of the landscape, and from the pages before showing the same image it is getting darker each time. The bottom half of the pages displays the same landscape but it is almost completely covered by the blackness of the night, even though the moon is out. These colours represent emptiness and loneliness. Another visual technique that Matt Ottley has used in Requiem for a Beast is Layout. Layout in this context being the way the images are placed on each page and throughout the entire text. Layout can be used to reinforce particular themes, values and attitudes. An example of this is on page 21. On this page is several images as well as a large text box. The text on the left hand side details some thoughts on what is going on in his head and past recollections, and the images on the right hand side of the page relate directly to the text. For instance, when he mentions the story of the boy and the bridge the top image is of an aboriginal boy jumping out in front of a car, then the next image is of an arm that is apparently lifeless as well as a glass of water along with a tab of pills of some description, this relates to the text in where he says I understand now what my own story them

finding me on my bed, almost gone must have done to my father Showing the he apparently tried to commit suicide. The images on the side of the page help to reinforce what has been read in the text and help the reader to better understand the storyline. Another example of how layout has been used in the text is on page 57. The images have been placed in a chronological order, along with text in the occasional one. The main purpose of this is to allow the reader more clarity on what is happening in the story and for them to be able to actually see what is happening and how it is intended to be viewed by the author rather than them having to visualize it and possibly getting the wrong view. This page also has his mental thoughts in it as well as chronological story text. Layout in this text helps the reader to piece together more about the general story line as well as whats going on in the main characters head. One of the other visual techniques used in Requiem for a Beast is font size, and font type. Font has been used very subtly in this text. Its generally been used to show the different story lines that are going on throughout the text. Such as normal block writing for the present time story line, informal handwriting for his thought text and Italics to represent the aboriginal Elders words. One of the main examples of font usage in this text is throughout each part of the story. For example the first part, Dies Irae. These words have been put into large, bold font. Designed to draw attention to the readers eye and make them possibly look up what the word means to better understand the story. And in behind the large bolded words is the actual meaning to the words and behind that is the aboriginal song upon which the words fit. All of the backgrounded text is in a very, very light grey colour making it harder to see. This has the effect of subtly suggesting to the reader that they should seek out the meanings of these songs to perhaps gain a greater understanding of the story they are about to read. The font type plays a role wherever it is written in the text. It allows the reader to know which side of the story they are actually viewing, whether its in his psychological views or if its narration of the text. This is coupled to images to help readers get a better and clearer picture of whats happening in the story. The largest technique used in Requiem for a Beast is Symbolism. Practically every single image in the text is symbolic of one thing or another. Starting with the title page of part one. Dies Irae is written in Latin, which was the basis of English language, this represents westernisation. Showing the aboriginal language in faded out writing behind the Latin words could be representative of the colonization of Australia by the British. It symbolises how the British oppressed the natives, and since that it is one of the main themes of the novel it fits in quite well. The next example of symbolism in the novel is a few pages down; it depicts the two landscapes gradually getting darker with a large white strip in the very middle of it. I took this to represent the British colonization of Australia, its almost separating the aboriginals from the land, hence the white line dividing the lands. The same thing happens on the next page where its even darker; the white line again splits the page in half and the moon comes out. I took the moon to represent again the white people, since the bottom image is completely dark and the moon is the only bright thing in it but yet it still doesnt light up the ground. This could represent how the British destroyed the link to the land and it wont light up to them so to speak. There are examples of symbolism and how it relates to the themes values and attitudes all throughout the text. A specific example that relates directly to the stolen generation as a theme is when he first comes to the outback town to get picked up to go and work on the station, he walks past a community hall that has a guest speaker in it. This turns out to be the aboriginal elder. It shows images of her talking about her past, and what she has to say relates highly to dominant themes of the story, she speaks of what it was like to be one of the stolen generations, and she also talked about her sister. Who drank herself to death with alcohol, which we, as British settlers had actually brought to the country. It could be seen that the British directly killed her, not just by alienating her from her own people but by supplying the means to which she could drink herself to death. One of the most predominant forms of symbolism throughout the entire story is the Minotaur. The Minotaur is a psychological manifestation of his own thoughts, he

was shown the Minotaur at the museum by his father and it has stuck with him throughout the rest of his life up until the current point. The Minotaur could be a manifestation of the guilt that the boy feels for the story he heard about his father. So perhaps it could be a representation of the aboriginal culture. Alongside the Minotaur is the real physical bull that appears during the actually narrated story line. This bull, I think also represents the guilt that he feels for what his father had done in a previous life. And by taking it on he is taking on the guilt that he feels. He eventually subdues the bull and kills it, and then he finds the courage to talk to Rudy, the indigenous stockman and find the aboriginal elder and tell her about the story of his father. Another example of the symbolism in the story is when it goes into the past and talks about him as a little boy; more specifically it shows the reader where his sympathy for The Stolen Generation comes from. In the images it depicts him fixing up the toy plane which he wants to give to the new popular kid at school so that he can become friends with him. When he goes and asks his dad for help with it he overhears their conversation. In that scene the boy can be scene standing in the background as a black figure and his father and the friend. The text in this part of the story is dialogue Shown in the same handwritten font that represents his thought and then the dialogue being racist about the aboriginals and it shows his father being uncomfortable. This is where the boys ideas of sympathy for the aboriginals originate from. Because not long after that he heard the story about the little aboriginal kid who keeps jumping in front of his father and his friends car and about what happens to him. This is what the bull that appears in most of the images is possibly relating to. The guilt that he feels for what his father did, as well as the stolen generation. In the next progression of images it shows him going to the boys party and giving him the badly fixed up toy, and the boy throwing it back in his face. This could represent how the boy felt marginalised as a child and then it relates to how the aboriginal race was treated. The next progression of images is quite interesting. Its the scene were the boy learns about what happened with the little aboriginal boy, It shows the boys father sitting down at the table and him coming up behind them, the next image is still of his father, but behind that is the image of him on his horse in the real time between him and the bull. After that each image from his past thinking is paired with one of the present time of him tackling the bull, I took this to mean that as his father beats himself up about what he did, or didnt do I suppose in the past the boy is willing to fight with the beast, and bring it under control. In each image his father appears to be more and more distressed while the boy continues to fight the bull. The next page again shows inter-twining of images. This time however its of all three of them. Its of the boy tackling the bull; its of the aboriginal elder whose son it was killed by the stockmen. And of the father, and they all morph together, again playing on the idea of metamorphosis that shown in earlier images. In conclusion, many different techniques such as colour, lighting, shading, layout, font size, font type and symbolism all have been used to help reinforce the themes, values and attitudes of the stolen generation, dealing with ones demons, loss, separation, guilt and forgiveness. Throughout Matt Ottleys book Requiem for a Beast many different ideas and views had been shown but those were the main ones that I found to be prominent through the entire text.