Harvey Pekar
The Quitter (2005)
Author: Harvey Pekar
Genre: Graphic Novel (Autobiography)
Plot Summary:
This graphic novel about Harvey Pekar’s life is beautifully illustrated by Dean Haspiel. The Quitter opens with a young Pekar living in downtown Cleveland in the 1930’s. Pekar, one of the only white, Jewish kids in the neighborhood, is picked on daily by the black kids in his neighborhood. His parents who grew up in Poland don’t understand him and he feels alone in his daily struggle. When Pekar is in high school his family moves to a Jewish section of Cleveland and Pekar is able to attend a high school where he feels safer. However, his high expectations for himself cause him to quit one thing after another starting in his high school years. He first quits football because he realizes he can’t be the best player; he also refuses to take difficult classes or try out for wrestling because he doesn’t want to face the possibility of failing at it. The only thing that Pekar does feel confident in is street fighting so he pursues this and gains the reputation of being a tough guy. When he graduates high school he decides to join the Navy; however, he quickly is discharged because he has a mental breakdown when the men are forced to wash their own laundry. He moves back home and decides to pursue college but after several semesters he drops out of college after getting the first C in his lifetime. Pekar works at a series of non-demanding jobs throughout the book but doesn’t find his real calling until he begins writing jazz reviews, which he is very good at. In fact, he goofs off at job after job and is laid off a number of times. After meeting R. Crumb in the 1960s, Pekar also becomes involved in collecting and writing comics. He has found his true calling but in the end, Pekar honestly admits to the reader that he still has neuroses about failing and not being able to take care of his wife and daughter. Pekar is an old man at the end of the story and seems to not have outgrown his fear of failure.
Geographical Setting: Cleveland, Ohio
Time Period: mid 1930s to present
Appeal Characteristics:
What is striking about this biography is Pekar’s honesty and his willingness to admit his own shortcomings to the reader. The style of writing seems confessional in nature and the reader has the feeling that this story was Pekar’s attempt to come to terms with the course he took in life. The writing style is also very direct because Pekar gives the facts from his life and doesn’t try to make excuses for his behavior. The illustrations by Haspiel bring the story to life because of the minute details included in each panel. Only black and white are used to color each panel and the lines of the drawings are bold which gives the reader the feeling of the gritty atmosphere of Cleveland and, therefore, the illustrations help to convey the atmosphere of the narrative. Haspiel’s illustrations of fight scenes are bloody and messy which corresponds to Pekar’s honest portrayal of his history. The tone of this graphic novel is dark and fairly bleak. The story is fast paced because Pekar moves the reader quickly from one event to the next, relying on Haspiel to describe the events with illustrations. The reader is driven to find out what will happen to Pekar in each new escapade. In terms of characterization, the reader gets to know Pekar and his family fairly well by the end of the story especially with the help of the illustrations, which bring them to life. The storyline is action oriented as Pekar moves the reader from one important event in his life to the next but also character oriented because this is an autobiographical work.
Read-alikes: If you enjoyed The Quitter, you may like Pekar’s American Splendor comic books which have been collected into one anthology. Readers may also enjoy the autobiographical graphic novel Our Cancer Year, which was co-written by Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner. Readers who enjoyed the illustrations in The Quitter may be interested in reading Daydream Lullabies: Billy Dogma Experience, written and illustrated by Haspeil. Furthermore, the protagonist in this novel also has trouble keeping a job and daydreams about escaping the pressures of his everyday responsibilities. Readers who enjoyed the autobiographical nature of The Quitter may enjoy Paul has a Summer Job or Paul Moves Out, both by Michel Rabaglaiti. In both of these novels, Paul recalls important events in his life as a young man during which he learned about his strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, those who liked the bold black and white illustrations in The Quitter might find the black and white illustrations in these novels to be aesthetically pleasing. If a reader enjoyed the confessional narrative of The Quitter, Blankets by Craig Thompson may be of interest. Blankets is a much longer graphic novel about Thompson’s childhood and young adulthood during which he grows to accept himself and discovers his artistic talents. Blankets is beautifully illustrated with very detailed black ink drawings which brings the world as Thompson experienced it to life for the reader. The R. Crumb Handbook may appeal to readers who are interested in reading the works of an artist who influenced Pekar and inspired him to begin writing comics. This work contains autobiographical comics and also social criticism, humorous comics and much more because this work is a compilation of many pieces of work. The artwork in this collection is a bit less realistic and more cartoonish than the artwork in The Quitter, which some readers may enjoy. Readers who are interested in viewing a film adaptation of Pekar’s work should check out American Splendor, which was based on his graphic novel.
Red Flags: illustrations of street fights which result in bloody faces and swollen eyes, some cursing and the mention of a female spending the night with Pekar but the illustration of this scene contains no nudity
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