Critical Reception: Q & A - Part 2

Scenes from an Impending Marriage; inner title page

Here is a second batch of questions that I have made for our group, different from the ones John posted in part 1. Hope you enjoy our responses.

Q: How would you compare your life in comparison to Tomine's when he was 16, and already deciding the fate of his future career?

A:

John: I'm 27, and yet to decide the fate of my future career (Wait, actually, I can't decide anymore, my fate is set... I became a computer programmer).

Christina: I would say that there is definite envy on my part, towards Tomine for being able to figure out at such a young age, what it is that he wanted to do. I am about to hit my 28th birthday, and I can tell you that even though I am back in school, I am still not 100% of my future and what it will bring me. Hopefully, it will bring me the completion of this program and the beginning of my future career path!

Peter: In comparison to Tomine who already had figured out what he was good at, and how he was going to apply it to his future life, I was nowhere near that. When I was 16, I was actually in a bit of a panic because I still did not know what I was going to pursue after high school. I knew I was good at computers and that I enjoyed programming. However, I could not envision how to use that interest and skill set for my future career. Eventually I figured it out....but I will have to see where it takes me.

Q: What do you feel is the significance of the title Scenes from an Impending Marriage?

A:

John: It's fairly self explanatory.  I feel like the use of the word impending gives it almost a tone of dread, but i believe it's meant to be humorous.  The only ones dreading a marriage are the couple, and the only reason that I remember dreading it, was because I was planning a wedding reception, and that's just plain stressful.  The word scenes seems apt.  It's short 6 to 9 panel stories, not a whole lot more, it follows the style of Tomine's writing, short stories, never a beginning or end, just an interesting middle.  

Christina: The title explains its own significance. It is a collection of different scenes that depict Adrian and Sarah's impending marriage.

Peter: I believe the title of "Scenes" basically sums up the memoir as whole, and is very appropriate. Throughout the whole memoir Tomine talks about his impending marriage as he and his wife try to work out all the details to their big day. This title allows the reader to perceive what they are going to read about and is significant in that way.

Q: Has Scenes from an Impending Marriage affected the way look or perceive memoirs at all?

A:

John: Absolutely.  I realized that not all memoir writers take themselves seriously. 

Christina: Yes, most definitely. Prior to Scenes, I never really had any interest in memoirs at all, however it was after reading this particular graphic memoir, that opened my eyes to the possibility that memoirs aren't as bad as I had thought them to be before.

Peter: I would say that “Scenes” defiantly took me by surprise. I am not one who reads memoirs normally, and for that matter one who reads a lot in the first place; so this was nice for a change. Reading Tomine’s memoirs was a fun experience; because it took the casual experience that couple would go through preparing for the big day and was recreated in a graphic, comical representation. The fact is I do not enjoy reading long descriptions, I just like things to get to the point using dialog; this memoir does that best. Knowing that memoirs can be represented like this, I defiantly think that I could enjoy them, if they are represented in a similar format.

Q: If you were to choose one favorite quote from the memoir, which one would it be and why?

A:

John: "This nonsense stops the minute we're married" (Tomine, 2011, p. 15).

Christina: I think that the most memorable / favorite quote from the memoir would have to be "This nonsense stops the minute we're married!" (Tomine, 2011, p. 43). The reason that I found this quote to become my favorite in the memoir was because of the activities that was depicted with each quote. There were three different activities associated with the quote - exercising (jogging), dancing and eyebrow tweezing. All three activities were what the two were doing in preparations for their wedding and all three were activities that he disliked and didn't wish to continue doing after the wedding. The one that was most prominent in my mind was the eyebrow tweezing and most guys I know wouldn't subject themselves to that for anything.

Peter: If I were to choose one quote from this memoir it would be “If anyone could hear our whining they’d hate us…I hate us!” (Tomine, 2011, p. 29). This was when the couple got overwhelmed with the amount of preparation they still had to do, in the short time they had for their wedding. They took a step back and realized how ridiculous they sounded once they started crying. The reason I chose this quote was because it reminds us of our possible silly first world compared to the third, and how funny it can sound to bystanders listening. It also reminds how one can get caught up in their own personal issues and forget about those less fortunate, such as those at aids dinner the couple decide to go help later.

Q: Would you recommend Scenes from an Impending Marriage to a family member or close friend? Why?

A:

John: As a short read, sure I would, it's fun.  I don't know if it's worth the money, but get it from your local library.  If I were a collector of Adrian's work I would buy it for sure.  I think his other works are worth a look too. 

Christina: Yes, I would definitely recommend "Scenes" to friends and families. In fact, I already have recommended this graphic memoir to several people. The reason why I recommended this graphic memoir was because I enjoyed it so much, that I felt that others could feel the same about it, and I wanted to share it with them. I also felt that I could show many of my friends (who are now in relationships and feel close to the next step) and have them take a peek into what preparing for their own weddings could be like.

Peter: Yes I would recommend "Scenes", because it was very comical but at the same time stayed true to problems couples face when trying to decide on things during a marriage. I think it would be most appropriate to recommend it to my sister as I feel the possibility of marriage is coming closer in her life. I think it would be a good eye opener for her but at the same time she would be able to crack out many laughs.

Since this is our last blog post, we have also decided to compose a Prezi presentation and summarize all that we learned throughout this project. We hope you have enjoyed our posts and this final presentation. On behalf all of us, we would like to thank everyone for following and reading our blog posts, as well as taking an interest in Adrian Tomine.