7.2/Group 4 - Nicole, Jessica, Amanda

The panel that we chose to write about is on page 156. We picked this panel because of how powerful it is. It shows Pedro’s family and friends mourning at his bedside after his recent passing. The most dramatic feature Winick uses to set the tone, besides the actual words that precede this panel on page 154, is contrasting black and white colors. The darkness or black area represents the bleakness of death; it also is used throughout the rest of the novel to draw your attention to important points in Pedro’s life. In fact, the substantial black border surrounding the panel takes up the rest of the page in the book, showing how death is all-consuming. On the other side, the scene of the panel features a well-lit hospital, contrasting with Winick's use of shadows for the hospital room in the preceding panels. In other words, he uses the light to show how blaring the situation is within the hospital room. Furthermore, the fact that this panel does not have any text shows the intense sorrow the characters are feeling. It has been said that words cannot express how someone feels after a good friend or family member dies, and Winick applies this common knowledge to this panel with the lack of words. We also believe Winick drew this particular panel to appear as if we are viewing the scene from afar in order to accentuate the slipping away of life, which is further highlighted by the bold darkness engulfing Pedro’s grieving family and friends. Also, this stark contrast between the black background and the white panel emphasizes the importance of this event. More specifically, the shapes are mostly rectangular, from the pictures on the wall to the bed, which draws the eye to Pedro and his family. This further stresses the importance of the people surrounding Pedro as he died, and symbolizes how much love and support he had from family members and friends. Moreover, this panel tugs at our heartstrings by showing us that Pedro did not die alone and was surrounded by devoted loved ones. In total, this is a very dramatic page that evokes emotion from the reader. The overall scene that is depicted is realistic and causes you to envision the actual moment in your mind.