Travel Writing - Reflection on Guy Delisle’s Burma Chronicles

Travel Writing: Discovery and Experience

Critical Essay

Question4:

Discuss how and why the graphic novel form is a particularly effective way to capture travel experiences in Guy Delisle’s Burma Chronicles. While examining textual elements such as character and plot, you should also consider visual elements such as layout, shading, and perspective.

Sometimes, translating one’s travel experiences into a collection of images than a piece of long-winding text encapsulates the journey better. Pictures work together to create an atmosphere for the text, be it somber or light-hearted. Visual aid often comes in handy when the writer structures inner monologues, or intends to create a contrast in the text. Some journeys are made to countries that are oppressive, socially backward and have little respect for humanitarian issues. In these countries where the political atmosphere is generally stifling, pictorial representation is perhaps the best way to address a grim matter in a relatively humorous manner. Guy Delisle’s Burma Chronicles is precisely the type of travel recount that needs to be presented in the format of a graphic novel.

To start with, this format is particularly good at creating a mysterious and melancholic mood. In the book, there are spreads that portray the wide, endless fields in Burma. The rough sketches are a faithful portrayal of the natural landscapes in the country, rendering the pictures a rustic and nostalgic feel. Delisle has also applied comical elements randomly to supplement the plot, and insert cultural remarks. He dedicated one episode to offering a candid account of people’s reaction whenever he walked on the street with his baby, Louis. There’s one panel in which ‘the patriarch’ is brought out by a group of Burmese ladies. The old, physically frail and lanky man is referred to as ‘the patriarch’, which is a subtle reference to the ‘infamous patriarchy’ of Burma, and can be seen as a western remark/critique of the backward Burmese society. Here, the Burmese man was made to appear ghost-like, and the Burmese ladies held him like a statue. Using vivid imagery, Delisle contrasted the lively Burmese ladies with the low-spirited patriarch and has successfully conveyed an eerie mood. Also, as a large part of the story revolves around Louis, who has yet learned to speak, pictures play a really important role in conveying his emotions and making him a useful character in the story. It is hard to describe a baby’s babbling or the noises he made (mostly crying, and more crying, but also ‘ADA’) in words. The best way to make the baby a meaningful contribution to the plot is to insert ‘meaningless’ noises in speech bubbles. Some things are better left unsaid, and with visual cues, readers can pick up clues that completes their understanding