In a novel, one’s internal emotions can cause a physical manifestation of the person’s emotions through dialogue or described behavior. Within illustrations, an artist can utilize different techniques in symbolism to build upon or contrast these emotions or behaviors. In their graphic novel, Skim, Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki utilize symbols of food within the panels in order to express Skim’s conflicting emotions towards the concept of love.
The page begins with Skim’s father saying, “You know you can talk to be about anything, right?” (Tamaki 66). The subsequent panel shows a close-up of her father’s girlfriend silently staring at her. In the next panel, Skim’s eyes move from the woman’s face to her own half-eaten plate in which a thought, “I think I’m in love” (Tamaki 66), lies in the middle. The much smaller panel on the right shows Skim, surrounded by others, silently glancing down at the table. The bottom-left panel focuses on fortune cookies, which accompanies…show more content… Archer, Skim struggles to disclose a relationship that is taboo due the two participants being female, as well as a student and teacher. Contrary to her father’s words, Skim does not feel that she can tell him, or anyone, about her feelings of love. As a result of Skim bottling up her emotion, food symbolizes a coping mechanism for her throughout the book. Whenever she thinks of love, her doubt of it, and the differences between expectations and realities of love, she consults her food, a thing that she has the power to control. While Skim tends to eat more in times of distress, when the idea of confessing her love approaches her mind, she does not feel the need to eat. By being “full,” readers can see that Skim now has a sense of inner peace concerning love. While it may not be a topic that she is ready to discuss with family and friends, she does not need to use her meal to cope in the moment. When she is full of love, her stomach also feels
