Jimmy Corrigan seems like he is racing against time. Jimmy is constantly reminding himself that he is growing older and may end up alone in the world. Everything in the town his dad lives in must remind him of this. Furthermore the depressing mood set in this comic is enhanced by the fact that it is winter and we are always reminded of it through the picturing of the leafless trees and Jimmy and his dad always wear thick flannel and sweater-vests.
Jimmy seems like an old person, not only in age but in emotional demeanor. Just take one look at that nearly bald head and droopy face. When he walks he seems to just drag himself along all hunched over and looking at the ground.Time must have been cruel to Jimmy; he works at his hum-drum job in his drab, undecorated cubicle with one lone picture taped to the wall. This picture, to me speaks volumes because most everyone has a few pictures of their kids or wife in the cubicle or place of work. Moreover, you would at least think he would have more than a single photo and what looks like a stress ball-like animal thing. When I found out he was 36, I was very surprised but then that reaffirmed my initial impressions because he looks like he should be in his mid to late 50s.
This is a major and recurring theme all throughout the book, especially on the postcard page. All the buildings pictured look boring and run-of-the-mill or even old and run-down. There are also no people in the postcards making the town look aged or dead, which is also a major theme in the book. There seems to be a weird fascination with death in the book especially with the death of Jimmy’s grandfather’s grandma in the late nineteenth century and the death of Jimmy’s dad later in the book, but less attention is given to it.
Jimmy is further reminded of his agedness when he breaks his leg and is restricted to using a crutch for almost the duration of the story. One could theorize that because he doesn’t have a wife or girlfriend to take care of him, he could have become even more morose. This also makes him look like an older person because it slows him down further and forces him to use a crutch.
I have also noticed that nearly every meal Jimmy eats with his dad is eaten out and they eat out a lot. This can mean two things, the first of which is that they have nobody to cook for them, they are now alone so there is no reason to cook because they are the last two members of their family. The second reason is that it gives them something to do; some way to kill a decent amount of time. It’s over a meal where most of the important dialogue between Jimmy and his dad take place.
Jimmy’s loneliness is taking a severe toll on not only his social and mental health but his physical health too. The stress of trying to find a girlfriend is making him old.
3 comments:
I am having a difficult time making sense of the flow of your post. You jump from one example to the next without really connecting the two. I also had difficulty placing the paragraph about the postcard page and fascination with death. It pops up out of nowhere, is gone just as fast, and is never mentioned again. Where/how does this fit in with the rest of the post that talks about how Jimmy appears older than he really is?
When you give the reasons for Jimmy and his dad eating out so much, you say one of the reasons is because they are alone and that there is no reason to cook. How does this work? I lived alone and I still cooked. What is your reasoning behind this statement?
To me, the ending of the post sounds like it was cut short. You say something about Jimmy being lonely but you only mention Jimmy being alone briefly two times (undecorated cubicle and not having anyone to take care of him). The very end is also the first place you introduce the idea that trying to find a girlfriend is making him old.
I would cut the part about fascination with death and give more details/examples on why you think Jimmy looks older than he really is and what’s causing his accelerated aging. Focus on where you see Jimmy’s age and then transition into what has caused him to seem older.
Jimmy Corrigan seems like he is racing against time to settle down. He desperately wants a girlfriend and it is killing him that he doesn’t have one. On multiple occasions Jimmy has daydreams about girls but that’s what we would call them, to him they are probably more like nightmares because it about something that he desperately wants. Jimmy is constantly reminding himself that he is growing older and may end up alone in the world. Everything in the town his dad lives in must remind him of this. Furthermore the depressing mood set in this comic is enhanced by the fact that it is winter and we are always reminded of it through the picturing of the leafless trees and Jimmy and his dad always wear thick flannel and sweater-vests.
Jimmy seems like an old person, not only in age but in emotional demeanor. Just take one look at that nearly bald head and droopy face. When he walks he seems to just drag himself along all hunched over and looking at the ground.Time must have been cruel to Jimmy; he works at his hum-drum job in his drab, undecorated cubicle with one lone picture taped to the wall. This picture, to me speaks volumes because most everyone has a few pictures of their kids or wife in the cubicle or place of work. Moreover, you would at least think he would have more than a single photo and what looks like a stress ball-like animal thing. When I found out he was 36, I was very surprised but then that reaffirmed my initial impressions because he looks like he should be in his mid to late 50s.
Agedness and monotonousness are major and recurring themes all throughout the book, especially on the postcard page. All the buildings pictured look boring and run-of-the-mill or even old and run-down. There are also no people in the postcards making the town look deserted, dead, or boring. This can be seen as an analogue to Jimmy because he looks old and he is, from what I can tell, very boring.
Jimmy is further reminded of his agedness when he breaks his leg and is restricted to using a crutch for almost the duration of the story. One could theorize that because he doesn’t have a wife or girlfriend to take care of him, he could have become even more morose. This also makes him look like an older person because it slows him down further and forces him to use a crutch.
I have also noticed that nearly every meal Jimmy eats with his dad is eaten out and they eat out a lot. This can mean two things, the first of which is that they have nobody to cook for them because at least Jimmy’s dad must have been used to his wife cooking for him. He now lives alone so he is not used to cooking his own food. They are the last two members of their family and they can’t have a real family meal. The second reason is that it gives them something to do; some way to kill a decent amount of time. It’s over a meal, in a restaurant, where most of the important dialogue between Jimmy and his dad take place.
The point of this paper was to prove that Jimmy’s loneliness is taking a severe toll on not only his social and mental health but his physical health too. The last couple of days of visiting his father and his untimely death must have exacerbated his nervousness about finding a girlfriend. I have come to the conclusion that the stress of trying to find a girlfriend is making him old.
The last paragraph in the revised version is interesting - like Philip said, the original jumped around a lot (despite an interesting start), and it's interesting that you're trying to give it what seems like almost a new purpose. A more thorough revision *from the beginning* to integrate that closing idea would have done a lot for the paper.
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