Progress Vs. Change in Jimmy Corrigan

In Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, one theme that Chris Ware illustrates is that drastic changes do not necessarily result from progress. One page that exemplifies this concept is the scene where the young James Corrigan is playing hide and seek with a girl.

Upon glancing at the page, it seems that there is only one picture, which is divided into many panels. For example, parts of the larger house on the right are in six different panels. This technique is unusual. Typically, each represented picture would encompass only a single panel. The continuation of a picture into multiple panels ties each of the panels together. As Raeburn states in “The Smartest Cartoonist on Earth,” part of Ware’s style involves “allowing the reader to be in two different times, and two different spaces, simultaneously,” (10). This is what Ware is doing on this page, especially with the portion of panels that connect the large house. While the house is complete in five of the panels, in one the reader views only the frame. The reader sees the progression of the house from beginning to finish. Therefore, progress is evident. However, because Ware’s style forces the reader to be aware of each panel simultaneously, the progress seems unimportant. In these six panels, the evidence of progress does not illustrate any great changes.

Another aspect of Ware’s style is the attention to detail in each of his drawings. Raeburn acknowledges this as “obsessively-rendered, nearly imperceptible body language,” (12) but the details in the novel are not only related to human expression. Ware’s detail in the scenery shows progress on this page, particularly in the contrast between the two panels that take place “A half century earlier” and the rest of the panels. For instance, there are no fallen leaves in these two panels and the grass is a slightly lighter color than in every other panel. The leaves in particular emphasize that it was a different time, because it clearly is not autumn in those two panels as it appears to be in the others. Despite these small details, these two panels fit in well with the rest of the panels, again suggesting that the changes since that time have not been drastic.

Finally, the panels at the top left corner state “A recent planting of trees, telephone poles, and houses on their bleak neighborhood landscape helps to make their game much more exciting.” This suggests that the neighborhood is more interesting and complex than it has been in the past, when it was considered “bleak.” However, the colors that Ware uses to depict this changed neighborhood are primarily dull. The page as a whole still seems rather bleak. This suggests that any progressive attempts made in the neighborhood to make it less bleak failed at bringing about any actual change.

The idea that progress does not lead to drastic change is common in the novel. It is due to various aspects of Ware’s style that this is evident on this particular page of Jimmy Corrigan.