This illustration, along with its accompanying text, constitutes
the first page of Gary Soto's The Old Man and His Door
with illustrations by Joe Cepeda. Soto's text provides the expository
information necessary for understanding the basic plot of the
story: words with similar sounds are confusing in and of themselves,
but an inattentive listener can really complicate the situation.
Soto goes on to introduce his main character, el viejo,
(the old man) in a very telling single sentence;
the old man is "good at working in his garden, but terrible
at listening to his wife." The line is vaguely reminiscent
of one from Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling: "He
isn't very handsome, but he's got character, and he can swim as
well as all the rest."(Haugaard, Erik Christian, trans.
Hans Christian Andersen:The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories.
New York: Doubleday, 1974.) It will be up to the reader to
weigh the fault described against the positive attributes and
decide which hangs heavier in the balance. Soto's text briefly
but succintly sets the stage. This Visual Interpretive Analysis
will examine how Cepeda's illustration complements, enriches,
and expands Soto's text.
Looking first at the illustration as a whole, the old man is in the exact center of the page, but his gaze is both upwards and to the side. He is unaware that the focus of attention is on him. There is a certain incongruity in his clothing. He is wearing overalls, but also sports a tie.
1. Perhaps he is unaware that there is anything anyone would consider unusual in this combination. Nice tie, comfortable overalls-does he ever see them in relation to each other? He would waste no more time considering this than he will on thinking about why his wife wants him to bring a door to a party. This is a man who takes things piece by piece,and usually sees it work out well in the end. After all, a garden grows "inch by inch, row by row"and that door does end up as a handy table.
2. The tie/overall combination gives the old man a droll appearance, foreshadowing the droll nature of the story to follow. It is important to note that the old man does not look ridiculous dressed this way, just unique. At no point in this story will the old man be thought of as a fool or an object of derision.There is no disrespect here, simply mild amusement over eccentricities..
3. This is compromise attire. Yes, he will be attending
a barbecue, and the tie denotes his recognition of a special occasion.
However, his garden cannot be neglected, so naturally overalls
are the proper choice. In a later illustration, his wife follows
the same circuitous logic. She is described as being dressed
in her best clothes. However, on her feet are a jaunty pair
of red sneakers. A nice dress is fine, but after all, it
is a long walk.
All in all, the illustration on this first page takes Soto's words and amplifies them for the reader, and we leave the page knowing a great deal more about this man than the information supplied by the words alone. In addition to the way the characters are drawn and placed on the page, Cepeda also makes effective use of color to set a mood. The greens in this garden are lush and deep, the tomatoes vibrantly red and ripe, reinforcing the fact that el viejo is indeed good with his garden. However, the sky is an improbable purple. The story does contain elements that are challenging in terms of their credibility. (The Horn Book review referred to events as contrived) but this makes purple a totally appropriate choice for the sky. If we can accept that sky, we can make the stretch to accepting the more improbable elements of the story as well. The heavily applied acrylics lend substantial texture to the illustration. Cepeda's art is a perfect introduction to a charming tale.
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