Arriving at Non-Verbal Communication

The Arrival is a wordless comic.  In this comic, you are able to gather a story about this immigrant without words for communication.  Just for a moment, let us stop and think about non-verbal communication.  At first thought, it is very difficult.  The average person uses words so frequently; it is difficult to imagine what it would be like without them.  However, the reality is just about 86% of all communication is non-verbal.  How you may ask?  It is about the body language and facial expressions.  This comic is successful at utilizing these elements as well as the environments Tan depicts.  There is one particular point where Tan depicts the immigrant trying using his non-verbal skills.  It is difficult for him to communicate since he obviously does not speak the language of his new environment. 

Which, speaking about the environments, are amazing.  The surrealism in the environments makes this comic, in my opinion, timeless.  Plus, everyone can relate to this story since there will be a time in everyone’s lives that you will be in a new and uncomfortable environment.  The immigrant’s story is literally about someone moving to a new and foreign country where he has to learn to adapt.  People will always be adaptable, or we would not survive.