literary interpretation

Page 17: The panels on this page are more visual than auditory. The frames are filled mostly with darkness that represents the dread that Phil felt when entering the cubby hole. The menacing snap of the cot catches your attention and you can almost here the metallic click and groan of it stretching into place. These frames make the father out to be a merciless character. He ignores the pleading of his youngest son, and continues to force him onto the cot. Phil's nose is rounded, but his father's is sharp and pointed. This gives insight to their personalities. Phil is innocent and childlike, but his father is stern and unforgiving. The text gradually becomes more chaotic. It went from small and linear to larger and more frantic, "NO NO NO NO..." The final frame shows Phil accepting his fate of having to spend the night in the cubby hole, but not quite ready to give up the fight. He scrapes his nails down the door.

Page 25: Craig felt he should have been the one to sleep in the cubby hole. He knew that he failed at being the older brother and that guilt built up inside of him. When the school bullies began mocking Phil, Craig snapped. This was his chance to protect his little brother. He didn't put up much of a fight and ended up in quite a mess. In the panel that Craig is in the bathroom Craig takes out his frustration on the toilet paper. He unrolls the toilet paper, and you can almost hear the squeak of the dispenser. He crumples the most-likely rough paper and mashes it to his face. The background color changed from black to white... as though his frustrations were disappearing as he calmed down. He runs his bloody palms down the mirror, leaving behind red streaks. This is similar to the final frame on page 17. Now Craig had taken the same beating as Phil.

Craig's Relationships:
his brother: (pgs 12,19,21,44, 71) He doesn't give the impression that they are close, but Craig loves Phil.
God: (55, 56, 80, 87) Craig feels that God is the only person who accepts him and offers him a better life.
himself: (86) He is unsatisfied with himself, and longs for something better.
Raina: (173) Craig is really happy with Raina, and she accepts him.
the Church
his parents