Week 5: A Life Force (3)

    For this section on Will Eisner I decided to read “A Life Force”,  a really fascinating glimpse into the human condition and how we all search for purpose in life. This was a really deep read, deeper, I think, than any of the other comics I’d had to read so far in this class; and all of the illustrations inside were done beautifully. All the characters were so expressive in their facial expressions and their body poses, and I really enjoyed the way it was inked. Even the way the panel layout was structured only served to elevate the reading experience, with some pages left completely open with no border to speak of. 

    I really enjoyed the message Eisner was trying to get across in this graphic novel, especially the character Jacob’s monologue near the beginning. After just being laid off from his job, he finds himself for the first time without purpose in his life. For him, to create gave his life meaning and without that he was no different than a cockroach, going on day by day just to survive. However, he postulates as he lay distraught in an alleyway, the human condition is to ask ourselves: why? What is the purpose for our continued existence? For us, just being isn’t  enough. We need a reason, otherwise what is the point. Except that there is no single concrete reason that matches everyone in the world. For Jacob it was his job. For his wife Rifka, it’s her children. As Jacob says “Staying alive seems to be the only thing on which everybody agrees,”.      

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