Research Week; The Speckled People by Hugo Hamilton

This week our brief required us to choose a book and research a variety of subjects from it. Such as characters, setting, time period, and so on. We then had to create a presentation of our compiled research. I chose to use Prezi for my presentation.

I chose "The Speckled People" by Hugo Hamilton. I think that this is an inspiring and touching book. Written through the eyes of a child the descriptions given in the book take a new approach to everyday problems and experiences, which really draws in the reader.

Personal Synopsis

Johannes tells his story through the eyes of a child growing up in the suburbs of Dublin in the 1950's. He lives with his German mother and Irish nationalist father along with his other siblings. In a house of jumbled up communication, the slight utter of english results in a beating from his father. Ledehosen on bottom and a knitted Aran jumper on top, he stands out in the world beyond the walls of his house. Surrounded by an English speaking land he is confined to German and Gaelic, leaving him confused about who he is. They are the speckled people, "breac" in Gaelic, which means spotted like trout. Without his mother, who helped him to question the extremity of his fathers laws, this boy would have never found a sense of belonging. It is a memoir of cross-cultural clash, a longing for an identity and finally self discovery.

Mindmap



Location

Set in Dublin Ireland, more specifically, Dun Laoighre. Suburban neighbourhood by the sea. with a dog that constantly barks at the sea trying to keep the waves away- the boy compares him to his dad. Connemara- all Irish speaking- I also added this in as they visit there but it is also very important as language is a main theme in this book.



Researched Images

  



1950's

Post World War 2 in Germany. Irish heritage being lost, Irish language taking over. The design/style seen in the radios, cars, clothes and posters. Censorship in Ireland. Europe is expanding but Ireland is left behind. Many young people emigrating.



Characters
The main character is Johannes the young boy, confused about who he is. German, Irish, English all around him. Angry with his father and his rules, which leads to cheeky wrong answers and the attempt to drown the barking dog. His mother, Imgard, homesick for Germany, however, an anti-nazi. His father Sean, a nationalist and anti-british, he gives speeches on the street and rules in the house with an iron fist. Karma hits and he is attacked by his bees and dies.

Theme:
IDENTITY

No identity in a picture frame. A flower opens to reveal its identity. A costume as an identity. a barcode on head for personal identity/recognision. Elephant cut up- the body parts can be mixed up but it is still recognised. Spiderman- spilt identity/2 identities.

Identified by what you do-a paint brush becomes an artists identity. Sleeve face- new trend of record covers used to change a persons identity ususally to someone famous. The adidias logo is manipulated yet it is still recognised as it is a well known corp identity. Optical illusion- do u identifiy an old woman or a young woman. Facbook- an online identity, not always a true reflection. Where's Wally?- know his identity so u can spot him in a crowd of thousands. A banana claiming its an apple. Russain Dolls- you can change their clothes for example put them in irish dance dresses yet they will still retain their identity as Russain Dolls.

Sketches
Colour of skin/handpints. Hangman- trying to figure out his identity. Your identity can come from your family tree. Fingerprints. Typical Name Tag. A signature is someones identity. Flags- nationality is part of your identity. McDonalds- known worldwide. Fish with a shark fin strapped on- trying to change his identity. A combination of a nazi symbol and a shamrock- idea of clash culture. Student Card- we are all identified by our K numbers. A tag- identity of where something is made.

Typography for Identity
finger prints. bank card type. book of kells. made out of numbers. Helvetica- common type: seen through page, hard to identify. cut in half- yet still identifiable. reflection of itself. Chalk- teacher. letters from famous brands. Hieroglyfics. Dot on the "i" represents an iris. Shape of a question mark. A signature style type. identity repeated in the shape of a country.





Typography
I began with the word people and made the entire title out of my findings. I did the same with the word speckled. I then decided to experiement with the idea of personalities associated with people so i put in some child written type, some paint strokes type, some crazy type, and some elegant type.



Mood Board
Polaroid Pictures making up a woman with 3D hands holding some of them. The idea that your physical appearance is your identity and that pictures are usually used for identification. Identity written as a signature. Theatre style masks with the second slightly hidden behind the black. I also placed it on the white to represent contrast between how people see eachothers identites. I placed fingerprints on the top right. DKNY upside down and sliced- idea that you can still identify a well known logo even when manipulated. Tear in the paper to give the idea of revealing ones identity.

Book Cover Research

Book Covers
This book cover is about a woman with OCD. Typeface: Trade Gothic.
It is colourful and eyecatching and easily gets the theme of the story across to the audience.

I think this book cover is very clever. Its titles translates to "Where there is smoke, there is fire." A story about a Chimney factory. The book is plain white with two fonts which are made out of the material used to light matches. the spine of the book is also made out of this material and it can acutually light a match. A vey clever design.