Blankets

First, I'd like to look at the panels on page 12. The first four panels the boys are ruff housing and fighting over the blankets when all of a sudden they hear their father coming down. Than in the very last panel on the page it shows their father for the first time. He's asking the boys "What's going on up here?" I think its interesting to look at how Thompson showed the father in this panel. It's very shaded and has a thick black border around it. From my interpretation, I understand that maybe the father isn't such a nice guy. He's kind of an ominous figure, kind of scary and dark. 

Second, I'd like to take a look at the panels on page 13. The boys are making quite a ruckus from their bedroom, so their father comes upstairs to yell at them. When the boys question their father and ask why they have to sleep in the same bed, they get the same answer that I'm sure ALL of us have heard at one point; "Don't question your parents authority." (Also with the thick black border around it). It's funny to take a look at the fourth panel exactly and see just how the author illustrated the fact that the dad has all the authority in the room, he is quite larger than the two boys. In fact the father takes up over 3/4 of the panel itself. The boys are both quite small in the very bottom corner of the panel. I think its interesting to look at that from a different perspective. All parents have authority over their children, and Thompson chose a really good way to show it, with not only words but also pictures. 

Finally I looked at the panels on page 35 where he almost misses his bus. The driver stops and lets him on and than in the very last panel on the page where he is sitting with everyone else, he is basically miniscule in comparison with all the other people on the bus. I interpreted this to be exactly how he felt; small and worth nothing, less than everybody else. 

I think this book and Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit are similar in the fact that Jeanette experience some of the same feelings. Craig gets made fun of a lot for being an outcast and so does Jeanette when her mother is forced to send her to school. Jeanette is also a social outcast because she decides to play with her sexual identity.