The Arrival

Shaun Tan’s The Arrival is able to convey a very detailed and surprisingly clear story and message of immigration solely through illustrations. The story follows its protagonist on a journey from one country to another, as he searches for a new home and job for himself and his family. The illustrations capture the true feeling of being immersed in a completely foreign culture. By creating a world where strange machines are the primary form of transport, and bizarre creatures can be spotted in every direction, it puts us as the viewers in the same position as the main character. We are just as confused and astounded by this new and unfamiliar world as the main character.

The thing I really appreciated the more I thought about it, was the fact that the people the main character encountered, seemed normal, behaved normally, and did not act surprised by the bizarre surroundings. It reminded me of a time when my friend Mesphin visited America for the first time. Mesphin is Ethiopian, and had never left his home city before then. When my dad and I picked him up at the Chicago airport, he couldn’t stop staring at everything. It was like he had stepped into another world, he was in total culture shock. The Arrival incapsulates this feeling and concept perfectly, and does it without using a single word. It takes away our ability to understand through words, just as if we were placed in another country that did not share our language, and forces us to decipher everything through pure visuals.