Mrs. G, the New England Patriots just won the greatest Superbowl ever. Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time. Alright I am done, sorry. All four of the covers that are shown are covers of the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The top left cover presents a woman with long blonde hair laying in the grass looking discouraged. Despite the look of sadness, the colors on the cover are vivid which does add a sense of hope. The same could be said for the top right cover, where another girl who looks younger is presented. The only difference would be that the image seems to be painted and it looks to be blurry which gives the reader the idea of mystery and suspicion. The bright colors are not something that the bottom two covers share, where both of the covers use dull color schemes. The bottom left presents a beat up boat on a deserted beach where the bottom right presents a grey background with the outline of human organs drawn on top of it. Both of these covers do not have a girl on them which makes both of these covers a lot less sensitive and relatable.
The first cover I will be talking about will be the top left:
1) The first word that comes to mind when I look at this cover would be beauty. This is because of not only the girl in the cover but because of the greenery and the sunlight that is shining of both of those elements.
2) If I had not read this book yet, I would think this book is about a girl in a harsh circumstance with a bright future ahead of her that she is not aware of yet. Now that I have read it, it shows how Kathy is ignorant to the society and how it is limiting the bright and successful future that she could have.
3) This seems to be Kathy being portrayed and we are looking from the readers perspective looking in on Kathy's life.
4) I do not really think that this cover hints at or gives any ideas to the cultural construction of the novel at all.
5) This book would be made by someone who wants to give the idea that sometimes the best things in life are so close you just do not realize it. It would be read by people who want to hear about a girl who lives a tough life but just might have some light at the end of the tunnel.
The second cover I will be talking about will be the bottom right:
1) The first word that comes to mind when I look at this cover would be creepy. This is because of the dull grey background will the deathly black outline of the human body highlighting the organs.
2) If I had not read this book yet, I would think this book is about a messed up society or some type of major story about a crime scene. Now that I have read it, it is refereeing to the donation process that each student is born to go through.
3) This seems to the human body portrayed on top of a grey background, with the black outline specifically highlighting the organs of the body.
4) This cover does hint at the cultural construction of the novel with the idea presented of the human organs. This sheds just a little bit of light on the whole carer and donor system and how that is huge in their society.
5) This book would be made by someone who is a lunatic who is fascinated about the human body. It would be read by people who love thrillers and a constant sense of excitement all through whatever they are reading.
Looking at both the top left and bottom right covers together, there are not many similarities that can be found between the two. Actually, the only real similarities in the types of aesthetics used in these two covers would be the name and author of the book. Despite this, a connection can be made between the two covers. In the top left cover, as stated before, a girl is looking discouraged and saddened by the life that she has lived. The bottom right cover is the reasoning behind why this girl is so down about her life, the society that she lives in has put her in this situation. The society that has the system of carers and donors, that is why the cover on the bottom right presents the drawing of the human body with the organs. They are joint covers and looking at both of them together allows the reader to develop a more holistic view on the book itself. It is almost as if, if you put these two covers together you would understand the plot of the book to a tee and have the perfect covers for it.
Props to you actually doing your blog during the super bowl I couldn't do that and look the pats won so double thumps up !
ReplyDeleteBut really good look into detail at the covers a little longer than 800 words I have to say
Some good thoughts here; think about organization moving forward in your blog posts.
ReplyDeleteReview this to make sure you're hitting on those key big picture ideas: https://image.slidesharecdn.com/paper1sl-150909144325-lva1-app6891/95/paper-1-sl-4-638.jpg?cb=1441810419
Hey there Ian! I'd like to thank you so much for turning off my computer while I was in the middle of leaving an excellent comment. Anyways, as I said before, although I hate the Patriots I don't hate this blog post. In fact, it is very well written! I think it is interesting how you said the girl in the top cover looks as though she is in harsh circumstances but has a bright future ahead of her. I didn't have that same initial thought but can see where your coming from. To me, this cover presents a painfully beautiful girl who is blissfully content in this green setting. Also, you did a good job at connecting the covers even though they don't contain many similarities on the surface level. Nice job :)
ReplyDeleteDear Ian, I thought your analysis of each book cover was interesting for me to think about. The book cover with the organs does have major contrast to many other book covers I have seen, as well as the other you selected. With that being said, I did like how you connected each back to the plot and the feelings of Kathy represented in the book itself. Well done sir swigy.
ReplyDelete