Alienation, Isolation, and Loneliness in Graphic Novel Memoirs

Graphic novels have reached a new level of popularity inside of the classroom in teaching visual literacy (Thomas, 2011). However, there has been very little in the way of developing critical tools to analyze graphic novels, particularly in the area of depiction of emotions of alienation, isolation, and loneliness. This study will develop a categorical system of the visual and verbal tools artists use to depict alienation, isolation, and loneliness in graphic novel memoirs. This study will also develop a categorical system of common settings where alienation, isolation, and loneliness occur in graphic novel memoirs. A brief discussion on how these findings can be translated into the classroom and the implications of this study will follow.