Guts: A Graphic Novel

Art, by its very nature, is symbolic. The oldest examples of art created by human beings—cave paintings—carry symbolism that modern humans still understand today. Telgemeier uses color to symbolize specific impressions in several specific ways. One of the most obvious examples of this is the author’s use of various shades of green to describe Raina’s mood: The darker the green, the more frightened and hopeless Raina feels. When four girls gather for a slumber party at the end of the school year, Telgemeier fills the air around them with pastel hearts, symbolizing their affection (195).

Another visual form of symbolism used in Guts is the motion line. Simple, parallel lines drawn outside the outline of a character create the perception of motion. Telgemeier often uses these lines to say something symbolically about a person. The character's motion in a given situation also symbolizes what that person is feeling. For example, when Raina sits in Lauren’s office by herself for the first time, the artist draws her with motion lines all around her outline (73). This symbolizes a quivering, side-to-side motion that indicates to the reader that Raina is quite anxious.