In Pedro & Me, page 46 illustrates Pedro receiving letters about his blood being reactive and asking him to come in for further testing. In denial, he throws each of the letters away. This is illustrated at the top of the page, where the reader sees a wastebasket overflowing with crumpled up letters. Finally, after many weeks and many letters, Pedro decides to go get tested. In another frame on the page, his clenched fist during a blood draw suggests his fear of the results. After Pedro learns that he is HIV positive, he looks dumbstruck, sober, and downtrodden, as shown by an illustration of Pedro after he has received the results.
This panel fits into the novel because the circumstance that it describes changes the path of Pedro’s life and allows him to be on the cast of "The Real World". The darkness of the panel represents his denial, his fear, and the dreadful test results. The light frame of the panel reflects the days between letters when he pretended that he wasn’t sick. The gap in the first block between words represents his hesitation to pursue testing. The letters, crumpled up and laying where they may, symbolizes how little he cares about them. The drawing of him with his chin down shows the somber news of the results.
Works Cited
Winick, Judd. Pedro & Me. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. Print.
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I liked your analysis for page 46. I agree and you help give a better understanding of Pedro's thoughts and feelings. I like how you used the gaps as a hesitation to pursuing testing. I also liked how you used the drawings for more symbolic meaning to Pedro's emotions.
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job in showing how the panel fits in with the novel. You went very in depth to point out every aspect of it. It helps to show just how much effort Judd put not only in the details of writing, but also in the drawings. He used his drawings to make his words that much more powerful and I think you really helped to show that in your analysis.
ReplyDeleteI like the way your group interpret the pictures within the big panel. I would add that the words also play significant meaning in this panel. The sentences accompany the drawing to tell the story about the shocking discovery in Pedro’s life. Furthermore, I would like to add that in this page, the panel has no border, the black background covers the whole page to show that although the story happen in a period of time, the feelings of scare, shock and sad are timeless to Pedro.
ReplyDeleteYour group did a very good job at describing the panel. You guys make good analysis about Pedro's feelings about the test. Describing the gap was good also, it expresses what a person may do when their scared.
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph describing how this situation in the book is the turning point in which Pedros life went the direction it did, this is good. Very nice choice in this panel, I think this is probably how most young people would react to the situation. This is very good artistry by Judd in this photo of Pedro, he has a very good way of showing expressions on the characters photos.
ReplyDeleteI think your group did a good analysis of this panel. I didn’t really think about the distance between the pictures and if they had any meaning. I agree that this symbolizes the change in Pedro’s life. It is at this point where the tests confirm that he is HIV positive. It is at this point where he has to make a lifelong decision whether he is going to fight this disease with all he’s got or go home. I think that another thing that could be added about the word boxes is that they make everything more dramatic when the words are broken up. I think the last box where it says that he was only seventeen really makes an impact.
ReplyDeleteGood job explaining the feelings behind this sequence of panels. I think you are spot-on in your analysis of the letters being thrown away simply being his complete denial of being HIV positive. Also, when pedro finally did get the test results, his head hanging down and facial expression exhibits his realization of his life being forever changed. It's difficult for me to find something you could have expanded on. Perhaps you could analyze the words used in these panels further. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteI like the description of the clenched fist. When I was looking at it, it almost made me think of the dread and kind of sickness to your stomach you get right before you have to be stuck with the needle and applying that to the way he feels about the results too. I am glad that you put that part in, you really did a good job paying attention to detail.
ReplyDeleteYour group picked a good and, I think, unusual panel to describe. Your description made me go back and look at it, as I missed the waste paper basket the first time through.Your analysis of the shadowing in the pictures was observant, and you expressed emotions I believed Pedro was feeling at the time. Overall a good decription of the page, and I also appreciate your paragraph not being overbearing and too long.
ReplyDeleteI like that you chose this panel, it is one of the most important in the book to me. There is a lot going on in this one panel. I like how big it is, and how it is broken up into separate parts. I think you should of also put that he was obviously scared to really know if he was positive for HIV along with your denial part. Your paragraph was very easy to read and went to one thing to the next very nicely. I think you should have put more emphasis on the picture of his head hanging in disparity, he looks so bummed and lost.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job analyzing the panel on page 46! You did a good job analyzing and interpreting why specific images are the way they are, like why Pedro looks “dumbstruck, sober, and downtrodden,” why the wastebasket was “overflowing with crumpled letters,” etc. I agree with your explanation as to why the panel fits into the novel. I like that you pointed out how the gap between the words represents Pedro's hesitation to pursue testing. That's a little thing that people often wouldn't take note of, but definitely represents something!
ReplyDeleteFrom your explanations of that panel I knew which one you were talking about without even having to go back though the book at look. I think you did a very good job with capturing the feelings of this panel. I think there are a lot of people that ignore stuff like Pedro did because that is easier then facing it and in your description was right on to what Pedro was trying to hide from.
ReplyDeleteI liked your interpretation of that page. I thought you guys did a good job with it. I especially liked the part with the clench fist. When i first saw it i didn't really pay much attention, but with your interpretation you can get a better feel of how he is feeling.
ReplyDelete