Monday, September 26, 2011

MASKS....

So after reading a few of your blog posts I figured maybe it was a good idea to examine the same question myself.

I think that the Crow is a mostly a Tragedy.  I mean, there are some parts that may make you crack a nervous smile, like when he cuts off the gang members legs or tells the cat to get lost. But the smile is not a deep smile, it's the sort of smile you make when the crazy guy pees on himself on the 7 train. But for the most part the work is a tragedy. It's a tragedy because Eric is trapped by his circumstances, and we feel bad for  him; we pity him. He not only seems trapped in his own obsession with revenge, but he is also trapped in the house with the cat, the bird, and his memories.


Eric's mask is used throughout the novel for many reasons.  It obviously hides his face to scare his victims and intimidate those who he feels are responsible for the tragedy that has happened in his life.  I can't help but think of his mask as a kind of pale expressionless face of death which if you notice is only off him when he is dreaming of that life before.  At the same time the black streaks around his eyes are always hinting at a deeper sadness, like someone with heavy mascara who has been crying a lot.  It makes sense when which it is revealed exactly happened to him before he was The Crow.

In many of the panels, James O'Barr has placed masks on the wall of the apartment that are very similar to the one Eric has painted on his face (which we do not know for sure because we never really see him do so). These masks sit as a constant reminder of Shelly to both Eric and us the reader. Shelly floats in and out of the book like a pale white angel very similar to how the masks seem to float themselves on the wall. In many panels the masks hang on the wall to remind us of Eric's life before. The masks were there when the couple painted the place together, when she danced around the apartment, and even when Eric sits on the floor with the cat and the crow. Later in the novel, when Shelly is tortured and raped, it is her face that is destroyed.  To her tormenters she is a faceless piece of meat.  In the violence and horror of their act, the Gang has taken the beautiful, porcelain smooth face of Shelly away, replacing it with one that is pale and dead...like Eric. In one panel Eric's mask seems to show Shelly's face as he reminds Tin Tin of that night long ago on the road. In many of the panels O'Barr has drawn Eric's face so much like Shelly's it's hard to figure out who is really The Crow, which is exactly the purpose of a mask...to become something or someone else.

Eric's mask is tragic. It is a scar on his soul. Eric's mask is always there regardless of any justice he may get from killing those responsible for Shelly's death.  In many ways the masks are tattoos, permanent symbols that remain long after the events that inspire them. The bird is constantly telling Eric not to look at Shelly in his dreams and memories, especially after he is shot dead (?).  At the same time the mask of The Crow forces everyone to look at Eric and their own punishment for killing Shelly.  the mask on Eric's face forces Tin Tin, T-Bird, Tom Tom, Fun Boy, and Top Dollar to remember what they did that night...it forces everyone to look.

11 comments:

  1. This is a good blog post because Chris really explains his thoughts about the mask. Also while i was reading, i could get a mental picture of the mask and its apperence.

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  2. This is excellent writing. Very detailed and with alot of examples that help the reader put everything together. Also it is something everyone can agree on because of all the examples given to back everything up.

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  3. This is a very good blog post simply because it gets into detail by letting the reader know what happen and gets in depth with the tragedy's that Eric faced an the transition he made after,and the meaning behind his mask.

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  4. The blog is good because chris describes the details to support his thinking of the crow, and he also uses evidence from the story to support his writing.

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  5. What makes this a good blog post is the fact that it speaks about the symbolic meaning of the characters mask and it digs deeper into the emotions and thoughts of the character that falls behind the mask... the connection of it is what makes it good

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  6. this piece is good you talked alot about eric used alot of smart words but most of them are missed spells.You described the detail of what people may or may not feel about the chatacer .

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  7. chris blog was good he had a good point of view of the story and his writting was good he had alot of details

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  8. THIS IS A GOOD POST BECAUSE CHRIS EXPLAINS THE WHOLE STORY ON WHAT HAPPEN IN ERIC LIFE AND WHAT HAPPEN TO HIM ON WHY HE IS DOING THE THINGS HE IS DOING. CHRIS GIVES US VERY GOOD IMAGERY I CAN PICTURE SOME OF THE DETAILS HE EXPLAINS IN HIS POST..... :)

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  9. This post is actually really good it makes sence and everything is on point you basically went through what the mask represents and in a lot of detail which someone who hasn't read the comic can put together and get a feel of what the whole story was about

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  10. Well in my point of veiw, i liked the way he wrote this. Real simple and easy to read. He says " I can't help but think of his mask as a kind of pale expressionless face of death" i liked it. I think he uses good imagery and excamples from thr comic. He gives his honest opinion and he makes the reading interestin.

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  11. Chris's post was good. I like how he used very detailed examples. And examples from outside.

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