When an individual steps out of her comfort zone, she is forced to face difficulties by transitioning through tough obstacles and challenges, a process which fundamentally changes her attitudes, perceptions and beliefs. However, the process of transition is complex, difficult and often involves others to help acclimatize an individual to a new way of seeing the world. J.C. Burke’s 2005 novel The Story of Tom Brenan and Shaun Tan’s 2001 picture book The Red Tree powerfully explore their protagonists’ respective transitions and the ways in which their lives are transformed. Thus, by reading these texts together, the audience can glean both the difficulties of transition, and its powerful effects in shaping attitudes and beliefs.
The Story of
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She is categorized amongst those children who are affected by depression from a very young age. Experiencing everyday like a nearly-lifeless being, the child sets a tremendous example of bravery, as she ultimately understands how difficult life can be but still does not lose hope in recovering through her illness. The protagonist embarks on an imaginative journey, navigating her way through strange worlds and overcoming fears and challenges before arriving at a magical and rewarding ending. The innocent girl is shown to be transferring into a whole new environment, taking along with her the mental pain of depression. Overtime, she gains rewards of a red tree in her bedroom and moves back into the world as well as start to feel happy again. Tan uses a dark colour palate to highlight darkness such as the scuba scene where she appears to be stuck in a bottle with only darkness surrounding her. The author illustrates the use of dark blue and green lighting as well as the dull brown lifeless colour to give the reader a strong sense of grief. Throughout the process of the child’s transition of examining the new world, Tan visually applies dark lighting of orange and brown colours, giving the responders a chaotic impression. Throughout the picture book and especially as it draws towards the ending, Tan deliberately utilises short sentences as he symbolically represents common phrases like “nobody understands” and “darkness overcomes you for depression” to alert the reader about the alienation the character is