Essay on Blankets" by Craig Thompson

Submitted By karlnuri1990
Words: 1171
Pages: 5

The autobiographical novel, Blankets, written by Craig Thompson portrays his childhood, his initial love, and adulthood in a Christian family. The book is composed of visual images that accentuatethe messages of the author. The novel explores on the synthetic instances where Thompson has to come out and demonstrate to his parents that his worldviews about Christianity are changed. The novel occupies the readers’ complete attention with many of the instances that relate to Craig’s life. He struggles with his religion. The illustration of the book reveals facts that Craig has a belief, that many of the biblical studies and the ways of living that surround him are not of any worth to his personal growth and development. During one of his Christian gatherings, he comes across Raina, who eventually becomes Craig’s first love. After meeting her, his perspective about life and religion face a complete transformation. The aspects of Christianity do not meet Craig with any sort of help as he lives a sundry life that does not denote any aspect of religion as given him by his parents and family where he suffers guilt.

The novel brings to the reader’s attention a sentimental change in Craig’s journey in Christianity. As indicated in all chapters of the book, Craig lives a teenage life that demands a lot from his love for the Bible and the life of his family. The separate identity of trying or living within commitments of processing the teachings of Christianity, does not offer him a better chance to interact with most of his friends. As a consequence, he appears to develop a dislike for the nature of the life he is experiencing. He encounters harassment by his classmates because of the intake his family embraced in their Christian lives. However, after meeting Raina, and seemingly having an emotional interaction and intimate connection, the negative atmosphere that surrounds Craig suddenly disappears for at least some period of time. It seems he alienates himself from the Bible and its commitments, which is why he develops a sense of guilt every time he encounters some Christian images or connotations. He knows very well that he is getting further away from the innate directions that are found in the Bible that surrounded him for his entire life. Craig still has a sense of attachment towards biblical guidance when he makes his visit to Raina’s house. Nonetheless, one thing definitely bothers his state of mind and his inside world. He believes that he might drift away from the knowledge he receives from his parents that he has ingrained in his heart since his childhood. According to the book Blankets, written by Craig Thomson, readers can see that his facial expression and postures tell more about his physical and emotional state; to put it bluntly, actions speak louder than words. Such feelings generate a serious connection to the Bible. As a matter of fact, every time he encounters symbols related to the holly book, he believes that he is committing sins. It reminds him to rethink his steps to the relationship that he builds with Raina. It is very vivid to make an assumption that Craig tries to build a life that he enjoys, though it appears to be against some Christian beliefs. His experiences show that he loves being himself; in fact, he is living the life of a first love, which is captivating and moving. On the other hand, the Bible and the thoughts about his family keep shaking him. It reminds him of the mark of God that is left on his soul, even when his classmates were harassing him. Deep inside his heart he desires to live by the teachings of the Bible, but at the same time, he fills with love for Raina. They become inseparable. Nonetheless, the experiences he embraces while he is in the camp and in many other Christian gatherings make him shrink toward strengthening of his first love. Even with the learning of the divorce between Raina’s parents, he seems to be reminded of the biblical guidance that forbids such an