Nanking (6 Points)

  This piece was beautifully illustrated and written, and really knew how to pack a punch right to the heart-strings. The way they constructed the narrative of the little girl being the one to tie all of these people together is brilliantly done. Sadly, the story itself is not really an uplifting one. 

I wasn't aware of what happened to other countries during WWII. When they taught us in school they spoke about only the bombing of Pearl Harbor and told us that the holocaust was the worst thing to happen in human history. But getting to know the finer details of things is really what makes us educated and I had no idea what was happening in the Eastern countries.

I'm touched that at the end of Nanking, the woman says she forgave the Japanese for what happened because nothing good could come out of war anyway. But she had lost everything and everyone she had in that awful siege of Nanking. They may have took all she had that was left, but thankfully she had people who were there to experience the life she lived when she was 8 years old; they helped her out in the end which proves that there is kindness even in the darkest of times.

The art style of Nanking is really what makes it stand out in my opinion. Everything is in high contrast so it feels more raw and uncomfortable. The conditions these people had to endure and the promise of protection that lead to so many people's deaths is atrocious, so choosing an art style that supports that tone is crucial. I think they pulled it off perfectly. Soldiers are obscured, or their faces are always malicious, while the civilians are the ones with emotion. The general with the glasses that lets his man kill innocent people, is differentiated from the rest because we cannot see his entire face and that's the point. People whose only intention is to get their rocks off by hurting other people are not people with any kind of moral compass. They are the 'others' because good people have good ethics, despite as much as the Axis seemed to think they were in the right.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit, though the truth is always hard to swallow. I'm glad I can finally have an understanding that all sides hurt in war. There are never any winners in a game of life or death. Trauma stays with you forever even if you make it out a winner. Hopefully with time we can educate people better on how to care for others.