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| Cover 1 |
| Cover 2 |
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| Cover 4 |
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| Cover 3 |
children of Hailsham were fed information through a filter to keep them from knowing the truth about donations. None of the covers seem joyful. While Cover 2 does have a child and bright colors, the blurriness makes it seem more dull rather than joyful. This is a good representation of the book because of the depressing fate of the Hailsham students.
All of the covers talk about the book's awards except the last one, which also seems to have the most depressing aspects. Covers 3 and 4 do not have any actual people on them, while Covers 1 and 2 do. However, Covers 1 and 2 also only have 1 person on them rather than a whole crowd. This could represent how, while Kathy has a group of friends, she is more of an observer so she is more on her own.
Covers 2 and 4 are of particular interest to me. The first thing I noticed about the two covers was the font. Cover 2 has a rather standard font, while Cover 4 has a font that seems shaky and changes size. The words are also very separated and all over the place. The font of Cover 4 reminds me of a horror movie, especially when the image of Cover 4 is taken into account.
Covers 2 and 4 have very different images. Cover 2 features a blurry picture of a little girl with a brighter color scheme. There is no particular background other than a simple blurred yellow and orange color. Cover 4, on the other hand, has a drawing of a person's internal organs. The background is of trees and the sky. The cover is in black and white, giving it a more depressing tone.
Without having read the book, I would have guessed that Cover 2 was a story about a family and maybe a missing girl, because of the blurred image and the title. Cover 4 would make me think of a horror that had to do with people's organs. Really, it would remind me of movies like Silence of the Lambs. The childlike skill of the drawing would have me thinking that the person (or murderer) was crazy, but I would not think of a child.
The fact that the two covers are so different I think shows how wide the audience of the book is. The book could attract many different readers because of how unique it is and the different book covers work to draw in different audiences. Personally, I would be drawn to Cover 4 even though I am not a big fan of horror. This is because of how interesting the cover is. The drawing itself raises questions in a potential reader. Who drew the picture? Why are there trees in the background? Why are there organs in the drawing? Cover 2 also raises questions in a potential reader, but these questions are more based on the child in the picture. Who is she? Why is she blurred? Is she missing or running away?
Overall, all of the covers are unique and show different aspects of the book and its plot. Still, they all show the depressing tone that the book carries.
I like that you chose to compare the brightest and darkest cover to each other; I also used the fourth cover in my analysis. I think it's smart how you start with a focus on font because this really does help to define the tone of the images. Do you think the images, specifically in cover 4, are alluding to events in the book? I also agree with your conclusion about the covers conveying unqiue aspects of the story. I think NLMG appeals to a wide audience because under all the different layers it is about humanity.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you compared the filters on the book covers to the information in Hailsham being filtered. The information being filtered kind of impacts the depressing nature of the book. Also for the 2nd cover, I found it interesting that you didn't think that it was completely joyful, despite the bright colors that it uses.
ReplyDeleteHey Amy!!! I really like your analysis! Especially the part about the book covers all having filters and its correlation to the students being filtered. I had never thought of it from that point of view before. I also agree that the covers are so different because there is a vast audience for this book (scientific, futuristic, romantic, ect). Great job!!!
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation of the book covers, mainly because I saw things from your analysis that I hadn't noticed the first time. I also chose the covers 2 and 4 and I think I chose them mainly because they implicitly show the central ideas of Never Let Me Go without being blatantly obvious about it. That's my style... suggesting things but not stating them hahaha
ReplyDeleteSomething that you could add to the analysis is why they used the particular images and what the effect is on the audience. I liked your analysis of the images overall but I think that is kind of like putting everything together in the end. For example, I recall that I said cover 4 used the image of organs to represent the organ donors and the drawing medium to represent the importance of art at Hailsham. I think that kind of ties the analysis back to its significance regarding the book.
I like your interpretation on the filters on the covers! I would have never thought of that! Also your analysis of all of the covers over all is very spot on as well. I liked how you talked about the awards presented on some of the covers, but not all of them. Something I would suggest would be to talk about what kind of effect this would have on someone seeing the cover without the awards on it.
ReplyDeleteYour comparison to covers 2 and 4 is very interesting. I like how you said that the different covers show the wide range of people NLMG attracts.
Over all good job!
I agree with Kaylee, i like how you chose the brightest and darkest. I think it represents the different parts of the book. Obviously the times soent at Hailsham would be cover two while the cottages and the closer the clones get to completing would be cover four. However i never thought to look at the audiences of the books. i like how you chose to look at that
ReplyDeleteWhat an extensive analysis of cover imagery, Amy! You really went in depth on the content of each and what they could potentially represent by way of themes in Never Let Me Go. I think you were heavier on the 'how' each cover expressed as opposed to the 'why' and its effects. Over all a well balanced and thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteAmy!! Right off the bat I was so interested by your comment about the filters on the images relating to the filter of information to the students at Hailsham. I agree with your thoughts on Covers one and two reflecting the isolation Kathy feels. I'm kind of embarrassed now that I read yours because I had no idea that the wiring on Cover 4 was supposed to look like human organs and now I'm shaking my head at how I just passed over that. I liked your interpretation of the covers from a perspective of having not read the book and I wonder if they would be similar to those of someone who *actually* hasn't read the book. Good job!!
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