What is the significance of David B's affinity for historical warriors and battles as a child, as shown in Epileptic?
In Epileptic, we see David's appreciation for historical battles and warriors grow and evolve. Introduced to the stories at an early age in life, David appears to first be fascinated with the fighting that always accompanied the stories he was told by his parents (pg 4). As he learns more about the battles, he draws them getting an early start on animation skills that he obviously used to understand Epilepsy better through this graphic novel. What could have been dismissed as boyish "warrior fantasies" (pg 19) really presented an early opportunity for him to bond with his brother (pg 13). Furthermore, when dealing with the confusion and drama that surrounded his brother's epileptic seizures, the stories gained importance because David could see a "reality that wears the face of regularity" (White 21), something that would appeal to any kid in his situation. In fact, at different times in the novel all 3 children identify with historical figures from Joan of Arc (Florence) to Hitler (Jean) to Tamerlane (David).
Why would David be looking for regularity in light of his brother's struggle with Epilepsy?
When he read historical battles and learned of his relatives varying exposure to battle, David was able to immerse himself in a world that had clear-cut heroes and villians. When he looked at his own reality, watching his brother being shipped from one doctor to another and his parents preyed upon by opportunistic losers, he surely envied the victorious generals he read about. He saw battles he could draw in their adventures, battles he could control the outcome of to make clear-cut winners and losers. He doesn't see that in his own life (pg 133), or that of his brother. David's desire for regularity is evident in the way he draws Jean's seizures, often turning Jean upside down or crooked in the panels to indicate the complications Epilepsy placed on his family life in addition to the convulsions that came with the seizures.
How does David benefit from his attention to historic victories?
David as able to gain insight from his attention to historical battles. He is able to compare and contrast what he has read about wars with the things his grandparents tell him about what day-to-day life was like during the war. The disparity between the glory depicted in the books on WWII he read and the dreary conditions illustrated in his grandfathers' experiences during the war help David understand that there is always more to the story.
As White states, "every narrative...is constructed on the basis of a set of events that might have been included but were left out" (10), and it is clear that David utilizes his understanding of narrativization through his depictions and descriptions of the many battles his family trying to cure Jean's Epilepsy. David was clearly confused and eventually jaded by his mother's continual search for a cure for Jean, the "moralizing judgements" (White 24) David makes about this search are clear in in his illustrations of the "endless round of doctors" (pg 11) that they visit and of the varying "guru"s his family falls prey to (pg 217). The doctors and practitioners wear evil grins or expectant expressions, a clear depiction of what David felt were their attitudes about his family.
In Epileptic, we see David's appreciation for historical battles and warriors grow and evolve. Introduced to the stories at an early age in life, David appears to first be fascinated with the fighting that always accompanied the stories he was told by his parents (pg 4). As he learns more about the battles, he draws them getting an early start on animation skills that he obviously used to understand Epilepsy better through this graphic novel. What could have been dismissed as boyish "warrior fantasies" (pg 19) really presented an early opportunity for him to bond with his brother (pg 13). Furthermore, when dealing with the confusion and drama that surrounded his brother's epileptic seizures, the stories gained importance because David could see a "reality that wears the face of regularity" (White 21), something that would appeal to any kid in his situation. In fact, at different times in the novel all 3 children identify with historical figures from Joan of Arc (Florence) to Hitler (Jean) to Tamerlane (David).
Why would David be looking for regularity in light of his brother's struggle with Epilepsy?
When he read historical battles and learned of his relatives varying exposure to battle, David was able to immerse himself in a world that had clear-cut heroes and villians. When he looked at his own reality, watching his brother being shipped from one doctor to another and his parents preyed upon by opportunistic losers, he surely envied the victorious generals he read about. He saw battles he could draw in their adventures, battles he could control the outcome of to make clear-cut winners and losers. He doesn't see that in his own life (pg 133), or that of his brother. David's desire for regularity is evident in the way he draws Jean's seizures, often turning Jean upside down or crooked in the panels to indicate the complications Epilepsy placed on his family life in addition to the convulsions that came with the seizures.
How does David benefit from his attention to historic victories?
David as able to gain insight from his attention to historical battles. He is able to compare and contrast what he has read about wars with the things his grandparents tell him about what day-to-day life was like during the war. The disparity between the glory depicted in the books on WWII he read and the dreary conditions illustrated in his grandfathers' experiences during the war help David understand that there is always more to the story.
As White states, "every narrative...is constructed on the basis of a set of events that might have been included but were left out" (10), and it is clear that David utilizes his understanding of narrativization through his depictions and descriptions of the many battles his family trying to cure Jean's Epilepsy. David was clearly confused and eventually jaded by his mother's continual search for a cure for Jean, the "moralizing judgements" (White 24) David makes about this search are clear in in his illustrations of the "endless round of doctors" (pg 11) that they visit and of the varying "guru"s his family falls prey to (pg 217). The doctors and practitioners wear evil grins or expectant expressions, a clear depiction of what David felt were their attitudes about his family.
I like the way you interpreted David B's drawings of battles. I never realized the relation between epilepsy and a war. To say that he drew them "to immerse himself in a world that had clear-cut heroes and villains. When he looked at his own reality, watching his brother being shipped from one doctor to another and his parents preyed upon by opportunistic losers, he surely envied the victorious generals he read about..." I think you are dead-on. David's brother's illness was so back and forth so there weren't obvious winners and losers. In the ideal reality,the reality that finds a way to rid him of epilepsy, Jean should have come out the winner.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great insight, and one that has implications for a lot of children who find themselves in challenging situations. A that I found intriguing is the top one on page 20. The protagonist and his brother are both riding war horses, but they are also set in stark contrast to each other. Jean is not so much riding his horse as miraculously keeping balance while having a seizure, whereas David is actually a part of his horse. His mane is a continuation of the cropped one of his horse, and he and his steed are equally terrifying on their own. How does the incorporation of Jean directly into a battle scene (especially because he is having a seizure) affect your argument? It is an imposition of the real into the imagined.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue that this panel brings up is David's marked interest in nomadic steppe-people. He likes Genghis Khan and displays himself on horseback in various scenarios throughout much of the novel. So what does his great love of nomadic warriors say about his use of military imagery in the text?
I hadn't thought of the fact that David might have been using the warrior fantasies as a way to deal with things he was facing in life. It seems like a logical step that one might conclude that a child deals with adult situations in child's way.
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