Sloth by Gilbert Hernandez. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2006. ISBN 1-4012-0366-3

Annotation: Suburban malaise is the background for this strange, thought-provoking graphic novel of three teenagers in a rock ‘n’ roll band, Sloth, trying to navigate the non-sequiturs of daily living.

Media: Black ink.

Rating: 5Q/5P.

Curricular connections: English/Language Arts, Fairytales/Folklore/Myth, Fantasy/Science Fiction.

School level: High school.

Metaphor: An urban legend of the Goatman, who can switch bodies with his victims, becomes a metaphor for Hernandez actually switching the three characters' personalities. In doing so, Hernandez deepens the reader's understanding of different facets of the characters' personalities while also strengthening the symbolic expressions already in place. This alternate reality is a bit disconcerting, but ultimately very effective in drawing the reader in by creating greater understanding of the characters and encouraging a closer reading of the text.

Symbol: Lemons and the lemon orchard are reoccurring symbols throughout the story. They signal a move into the unconscious realm. The lemons start out as introductions to Miguel's dream world and his internal reflections and struggles to resolve the difficulties in his world, such as the loss of his mother and criminal father. He can't control the lemons, is bombarded by them, and even fears that his mother was killed and buried in them, beneath the lemon orchard, illustrating his fears. Later we see the lemons creep into the waking world through the orchard as Miguel's fear is provoked at the site of Lita and Romeo together.

NP 06/26/09

Hernandez, G. (2006). Sloth. New York: Vertigo. ISBN 1401203663 4Q/3P

Summary: Miguel has been in a coma for a year, and now he does everything very slowly. Including searching the lemon orchards for goat men and dead bodies.

Media: Pen and ink.

KEM 4/21/08

Hernandez, G. (2006). Sloth. New York, NY: Vertigo.

ISBN-10: 1401203663

ISBN-13: 978-1401203665

Gilbert Hernandez creates a haunting tale of consciousness, depression, social position and attraction with a supernatural twist. Definitely one to think over.

REPETITION:

            Repetition can be used in many ways, simple and complex, to great and varied effects.  Anything from an insane character repeating the same three words over and over, to the same event or events happening to multiple characters, like in Sloth.  Here we see three different characters in three similar yet different story arcs all bearing echoes of each other, or repeating events.  The emergence from a coma and constant lethargy are repetitions that travel from story to story as well as the importance of the grove of trees and changing targets of love and affection.  While these could be representative of themes, the concrete details of their happenings place them more in the lines of repetition and in doing so show that they have a serious amount of significance.  The analysis of significance depends on the reader and what mind frame and direction he or she is looking in when reading the stories, yet because of the resonance of the events, they are clearly marked by the author as important and at the very least, worthy of a little exploration.

Media: Ink/Computer

4Q/4P

CJS 5/9/08