Craig Thompson, a now renowned cartoonist, grew up in small town Marathon, Wisconsin. As a child of fundamentalist Christian parents, he marinated in a severely sheltered environment that was, for the most part, censored from mainstream media. The only form of public entertainment that he was allowed exposure to were the sunday funnies. Naturally this focused subjection instilled in him aspirations to one day become a cartoonist, however his ambitions were regularly met with a barrage of opposition from his fundamentalist parents. (Michael Mechanic) In 2003, Craig Thompson released a powerful, thought provoking graphic memoir detailing his journey through coming of age, his escape from imposed christian beliefs, and self reinvention. Blankets…show more content… Throughout this parallel structure of the novel, Thompson juxtaposes flashbacks of childhood trauma against the effect it had on him as an adult, and later, against the realization that his expectations did not reflect his reality. It is this placement of short, separated narratives that he is able to lead the character through the motives of his reinvention. A good example of such comparison occurs when thompson finds himself at conflict with the lust he feels for his lover because of the scolding he once got for having such feelings. The memoir depicts his parents’ reaction to a picture he drew at a young age of a naked woman, in which they say to him “It hurts [Jesus] when you sin” (Thompson 208). In the next narrative section, when he has the desire to touch his lover, the image of jesus causes him to withhold: “I wanted to touch her…but this time I didn’t.” (Thompson 221). Later, during a scene when she invites him to bed, he imagines the room engulfed in flames. This image, however is abruptly interrupted by beautiful illustrations of her body accommodated by amorous poetry. It is severe contrasts like these that play the largest role in forcing the character to sympathize with the