Graphic novel and aristotelian passions in Wringles by Paco Roca

Abstract

Language is a means of interaction and in the graphic novel, also known as comic book, there are specificities that require the orator to have this knowledge not to miss elements of a good persuasive text, such as clarity, coherence, and cohesion. In this sense, Rhetorical art, which aims to disclose persuasive mechanisms of discourse, is also present in graphic novels, as persuasion can occur in verbal and/or multimodal texts. By presenting verbal and visual language, the discourse, through a multimodal text, is presented to the audience in a more touching and compelling way, capable of awakening movements of exposure of emotional evidence, linked to the heart. This awakening of passions occurs in the graphic novel Wrinkles by Spanish writer Paco Roca. By presenting Alzheimer's disease in a light and emotional way, he allows the work to be persuasive. In this paper, we sought to identify how this multimodal text uses graphic resources to arouse passions in the audience/reader. This study is relevant, as it demonstrates the potential of Rhetoric in multimodal texts –such as in Paco Roca’s work, which condenses in images a range of meanings– and how theoretical rhetorical concepts can underpin diverse texts. Comic books references such as Eisner (1999; 2013) and Ramos (2012), as well as Rhetoric references such as Aristotle (2015), Reboul (2004), Meyer (2007), Ferreira (2010), Abreu (2001) Figueiredo (2018) and Fiorin (2016) were used as theoretical background. Our findings reveal some of the passions in the multimodal text, and, based on the theoretical background we used, how they can be evoked in the reader. Graphic sequences like Wrinkles show to be persuasive as they turn to be touching and pensive. In the graphic novel, there is also a pedagogical side of Rhetoric, because in addition to movere and comovere, when reading it, one gets to know a little about Alzheimer's disease, linked to docere.