Again, as I continue to read Stuck Rubber Baby, I am so glad we are done with Alan Moore and back into the realm of the realistic. The emotional impact of Cruse's novel is almost as great as the impact Blankets (one of my new "favorite books" on facebook) had on me. Then again, maybe that's because I've been listening to Tupac's "Changes" on a regular basis for the past few days. Anyways...
The way that Cruse lays out some of his pages is fascinating. I believe the opening page of chapter ten (p. 76) is extremely well done. In the background of the page's upper left corner there is an image of Toland looking in at Russell Park, his back to the reader as if he is trapped outside the park, which represents a fight against prejudice, but wants to be let in. In the foreground of the same image is another picture of Toland, this time his face visible to the reader. While this second image of Toland also displays the same sort of longing to be on the other side of the fence, the fence also obstructs his image and gives the reader the sense that Toland's sexuality acts as an entrapment. Directly below this image is a third image of Toland, this time in his present state telling the story directly to the audience. This third image of Toland is placed in front of the fence acting as the younger Toland's cage, representing Toland's eventual capacity to come to terms with his sexuality and escape the feelings of entrapment it causes him. Overall, the way Cruse works with the two images of the fence and the multiple images of Toland in such a symbolic way emphasizes they way that multimodal texts can use images to create additional meanings. Well done, Mr. Cruse!
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