Literature in a Novel Form

Graphic novel: lit or lite? Had you posed that question to Diane Tetreault five years ago, the instructor in English would have been firmly in the “lite” camp.

“My daughters were always avid readers,” says the professor, admitting that she had never tried the genre herself. “When I saw one of them reading a graphic novel, my attitude was, ‘Can’t you read a real book?’”

Fortunately for Bentley students, one daughter threw down a challenge that Tetreault accepted. She read Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale, a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman that weaves together scenes from the author’s days in contemporary New York City and his father’s life in Poland during the Holocaust.

“The format really struck a chord with me,” she remembers. “It’s intellectually demanding. The reader gets to read the text, but also interpret the visual elements: the lighting, the mood, the balance between text and image. It taps a different part of the brain.”

One page lead to another and, before long, Tetreault was something of an expert on the form. She decided to offer a course.

Instant Hit

Graphic Novel: Lit or Lite proved an instant hit. Now in its third year, the course fills up every semester, attracting undergraduates studying business and the arts and sciences alike. Tetreault says that, typically, only two or three of the 25 students in a class will have read graphic novels before.

One such student was Miran Kicic ’11, who had plucked a few graphic novels from the shelves at his hometown library. But he was still surprised by the complexity of the books that his professor assigned.

“A lot of consideration goes into all the elements on the page,” observes the Economics–Finance major. “There was a lot to analyze.”

Dissecting the creative decisions of graphic novelists helps students hone their skills in critical thinking. They also learn problem solving through a service–learning project such as aiding a bookstore that employs and mentors underprivileged high school students.

Observes Tetreault: “These skills stay with students during the course and long after.”

Serious Themes

Elaine Carroll ’10 signed on for the course after meeting Tetreault at a campus art exhibit.

“She had so much exuberance and energy,” says Carroll, a double major in Accountancy and in Media, Arts and Society. “I thought, ‘Wow, I would like to have her as a teacher.’”

She hasn’t been disappointed. Tetreault’s curriculum has opened Carroll’s eyes to the intricate marriage of plot and imagery in the best graphic novels.

“Generally when people think of graphic novels, they think of X-Men and superheroes,” Carroll says. “We’ve been looking at much more mature themes. A Contract with God is about the Great Depression, losing faith with God, alcoholism and depression.”

Moreover, understanding the use of images to convey ideas and emotion has shed light on a career field that Carroll is considering: advertising.