In high school, I had to read the graphic novel Persepolis for an English class. This
reading style was very different than what I was accustomed to, so it took me
quite some time to get into the book. However, once I got used to reading
graphic novels, I actually enjoyed the book a lot. I think this is a fun and
different way to tell stories, which is why I was happy to see a few graphic
essay readings for this class.
The graphic
essay that most interested me was “Common Scents” by Lynda Barry. The essence
of this piece is that every household has a unique smell. Your own scent is
familiar to you, so oftentimes your own house is the one that you cannot smell.
The narrator describes this by saying, “Of course the biggest mystery of all
was my own house. I couldn’t smell it at all. I didn’t think it had a smell”
(104). To me, this rings very true. I can remember one day in middle school
when a group of my friends somehow brought up how they all thought my house and
my clothing smelled great. This was news to me, because even as I sniffed my
shirt I could smell nothing. Their houses, on the other hand, I knew to have
very distinct smells.
The
narrator of “Common Scents” also discusses the households that attempt to use
air fresheners to cover up odors. According to her grandmother, “It is not
God’s way” (106). In the essay, trying to disguise a house’s naturally
occurring scent is unnatural. Barry is very comedic when she describes the
results of mixing these smells, and some examples include “cherry pop-up fried
liver” and “tropical passion aroma therapy cat box” (107).
While some
people try to disguise the smells of their houses, the narrator loves the scent
of her house. She says, “Our house smelled like grease and fish and cigs…And if
they could get that into a spray can, I’d buy it” (107). The smell your house
should be something to be proud of, and it cannot be bought. This scent is that
makes the narrator’s house her home.
-Amanda
I agree with how you said reading graphic novels is an interesting way to see the story. It adds a whole new element to the story and you can almost see exactly what the author is picturing when she writes it. I also agree that the story teller takes a lot of pride in the way her house smells. She doesn't want to use an aresol product to cover up the smell, she embraces it, and basically says she would invent a product so that it always smells like that.
ReplyDelete-Nick
Amanda, I agree with your opinion on graphic novels. Sometimes you read a book and have a distinct picture in your head of what's going on. Sometimes this isn't the picture the author intended and you don't get the full extent of the message. With a graphic novel you can see in pictures exactly the way the author thinks. This story helped me make a connection to home as well. I can relate to that home smell, where your senses seem to realize this is a comfortable place to be.
ReplyDelete-Jordan
Amanda your Graphic novel connection was spot on. I also found it interesting that people and houses have their own scents which i can smell. I also think that the author is trying to make a connection to be proud of who your are and what you have and using scents as a metaphor.
ReplyDelete-Alex L.
One of the cool features for me about the graphic novels are how different they are as oppose to a normal book. One thing that I thought was interesting about the pieces that we read was how different each one was. Common Scents was very crudely drawn and used many more words than that of Prisoner on a Hell Planet. This pride in ones house smell is not synonymous to that of most white families. Spray cans were invited to deodorize ones house and the market for them is mainly that of Caucasian buyers. It shows how different races aren't trying to impress anyone with a "fresh" house, they would rather be happy with a house that they enjoy.
ReplyDelete