Narrative told without a Voice

The Arrival was a lot of fun to read and its tale really sets you up for what the story has to present. It narrative about a man looking for a new home for his wife and daughter and the tale of asking people how to get there. When he asks others we get a look as to what their life was like and what they had been through. The story could be read without words since it’s imagery follows like how artist use storyboards to show their client what actions would take place during the story. It’s scenes are mostly set actions that the main character is doing such as a frame by frame of him opening a letter by holding it half open, then having it folded into squares, then him putting it in his pocket. It uses step by step while only focusing on the important scenes.To me however, what’s unique about the arrival is the lack of color that draws the reader to the story and the abstract landscape that catches the eye as the main point of interest. The look of the piece is with a tannish color with shaded parts to represent shadow, which is an unusually choice of design. It’s tone was clear as it reminded me of silent movie where the characters main action was what told the story, not through vocal communication. Sometimes certain shots were like camera shots to show you what’s important and to not bore you sometimes when you follow along in the story. It would also help that sometimes you can just imagine the characters moving on their own even though some frames are just a still image… or is that just me? Either way, the narrative is more driven by the imagery and each scene is very detailed in quality. The Arrival is one of the rare few pieces I’ve read that can describe a narrative without words and have been yearning for more. The imaginative setting is both different but familiar to what I’ve seen and has me reflect on how many other stories could be told without voice.