48 pages 1 hour read

Goodbye, Eri

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | YA | Published in 2022

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Symbols & Motifs

Camera

Content Warning: This section discusses illness and death, suicidal ideation, child abuse, child death, and bullying.


The camera is a crucial symbol within the narrative, functioning as the mediator between Yuta and his life. Yuta explicitly states that he uses his camera as a shield and separator, through which he can view his problems “from an outside perspective” (170), including his mother’s and Eri’s deaths. Due to his anxiety and vulnerability, he can only “face facts from behind a camera” (170). The camera, then, symbolizes Yuta’s fear and isolation, as well as a form of protection from the pain and grief in his life. By filtering his experiences through the camera lens, he can distance himself from them, analyze them from an outside angle, and attempt to process them without letting them touch him. It becomes both a survival mechanism and a boundary, allowing Yuta to curate life into a manageable narrative.


While some panels display the perspective of an omniscient viewer watching the scene play out between Yuta and the other characters, most of the narrative is viewed through Yuta’s camera. This perspective is visually portrayed in a couple of different ways.

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