City of Glass: Page 57

One page that stuck out to me in the first section of City of Glass is page 57. The items that Stillman collects in this 7-panel sequence ellicit many reactions, as these items are grotesque, broken, worn-out and sad. Further, these items are highly symbolic. Most troubling is the severed head (57.5) of a childlike doll, that floats above Quinn as he records Stillman's actions in his notebook. The head represents either mind separated from heart or action without thought (the latter being the main contrast between Spillman and Quinn at present - i.e. Spillman is collecting data in a very precise manner, while Quinn invents his methods of record keeping as he goes). Another item, a broken light bulb (57.3), speaks to the light motif that appears throughout the novel and suggests a shattering of that light. A worn New Yorker with an egg on the cover (57.3-4) lays beside the light bulb and splits two panels (or, one could say, cracks the egg between two panels). I would argue next that the broken umbrella (57.4), which appears again in 70.3, is a bit of foreshadowing for an upcoming chain of events, and the worn glove (57.1-2) speaks to the concept of identity and protection that is indispensible to City of Glass. Lastly, in terms of symbols, the wind-up toys (57.6-7) can be viewed quite easily as what either Stillman or Quinn are doing (i.e. Stillman walks around with his head hung, picking up random objects as if he's fueled by something inside, and Quinn follows Stillman as if programmed to do his job without thinking) or, since there are multiple wind-ups in 57.6, as a comment on society's thoughtless and aimless progression. The symbol I have most trouble understanding is the broken tree branch which splits between panels 57.4-5, but my guess is that it has something to do with splitting natural phenomenon or breaking the course of nature.

In a way, these symbols speak louder than any text on this page and strengthen the themes and motifs of the novel in a way that text cannot. It wouldn't have been as effective to include these metaphors in the narrative itself. For example, saying, "Quinn wrote everything down as if his head was severed from his body," would not have fit within the scope of the narrator's tone or voice or perspective. Yet the image of the severed head is powerful enough to communicate this idea without jeopardizing the reliability of the narrator. The reader watches the images float across the frames just as he/she would read through a descriptive list in a novel.

Stylistically, panels 57.1 and 57.2 move almost in an action-to-action style; panels 57.3-5 employ a montage affect that links aspect-to-aspect; and panel 57.7 transitions from 57.6 by zooming in and showing the reader what's most important. Issues of time between panels are hard to pinpoint, as time doesn't seem to be as large of a factor. Time is marginalized instead by the symbolism of objects and juxtaposition of Quinn to Stillman. The characters both appear with their heads down (as do the street peddler's and the wind-up's) and both are recording the same symbols.

Lastly, what I find most intriguing about this page is how the text interacts with such a loaded page of images. Panel 57.5 tells the reader how to comprehend the entire page when it says, "...hover stupidly on the surface of things..." This phrase is there to make the reader stop, slow down and look closer at the symbolic images that appear in every frame on this page. The text not only moves the reader through the narrative but tells him/her more - the text instructs how to read the images.