Plotted: A Literary Atlas
Page 6
smell more vivid, human symbols that seem
more mysterious, and natural clues that oer
far more information than we would normally
expect. e essential nature of these rabbits
— timid, yet capable of real bravery; limited
in imagination, but creative when occasion
demands; and generally imbued with the po
-
tential to exceed their natural limits — is the
thing that binds us to them, and which makes
their story matter. When Blackberry gures out
how the rabbits can utilize a raft, Fiver gets it;
but Hazel, who’sa very clever rabbit in his own
right, just cant grasp it. It’sthose little things
that keep the rabbits in scale.
Scale was also an interesting problem to
consider in creating these three maps. How to
show how intimidatingly large the world be
-
yond the Sandleford warren must appear, while
at the same time oering an intimate glimpse
of the rabbits’lives underground, of howthey
must feel under threat, as at Sandleford; de
-
feated, as in Cowslip’swarren; belligerent, as
at Efrafa; or comfortable at a true home, as
Watership Down
nally becomes. On this
question of scale, Richard Adams has, in a way,
already provided the answer. Wemust see the
rabbits as he understands them: on their own
terms, but through a human lens.
•
TheWarrens
From
Watership Down
By Richard Adams
1972
113.
“
T
he Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
is not intended as a happy story.e
city is built on human misery.It has a heart of
darkness that everyone must witness. But even
bearing all of that in mind, this is a civilization
that still shines more brightly than any that we
have ever seen. As opposed to being built on the
bones of millions like the most vaunted nations
of the present day,Omelas has a body count of
one. at is an impressive record indeed. But
the story’spower seems to take advantage of
that little cost. “One death is a tragedy,”Stalin
is supposed to have said, “one million is a statis
-
tic.” One million is also truer to life but harder
to see and compute. is single, unbearable life
on display in Omelas forces us to reckon with
our acquiescence in the brutal practices that re
-
main a part of every civilization on earth.
is moral seems clear enough, but the
story allows for a tremendous amount of com
-
plexity within its few pages. Ursula K. Le Guin
won’tmake sense of the story’sparadoxes for
us. In fact, she forces us to partake of her cre
-
ative act. She will not tell us about the tech
-
nological sophistication of Omelas: “Perhaps it
would be best if you imagined it as your own
fancy bids… For certainly I cannot suit you
all.” Much in this city seems to be negotiable
in this fashion; drugs and sex certainly are. But
whatever else changes, the child prisoner must
remain. Here we have no choice — but we can
walk away. Which brings us back to this ques
-
tion of guilt.
“One thing I know there is none of in
Omelas is guilt.” is despite the fact that ev
-
eryone within the city’swalls is guilty to the
same degree. Guilty as both participants in a
horrible crime, and guilty of a self-willed ig
-
norance. But do we livein this city,or are we
the ones who walk away? e narrator herself
seems to occupy an ambiguous place. Some
-
times she seems to discuss the appearance of
the city with the knowledge and familiarity of a
local (even defending its practices at one point),
but at other times she seems to drift away,gain
-
ing the perspective of a visitor rather than a
resident. She seems to register what is strange
about this place. But she cannot describe
what lies beyond, in “the darkness” outside of
Omelas, because each person there must make
her own way.It isclearly an act of bravery to
walk away, to stride into the unknown. As
readers, Le Guin provides us with the build
-
ing blocks to construct the city of Omelas,
but if we want to forsake it afterward, then we
too have to strike out alone. Itis telling that
it is “the ones” who walk away. It connotes a
plurality of solitary units. at also sounds
like a denition of civilization, but no one has
yet returned to the city to tell of a civilization
beyond those walls.
Weonly believe in Omelas, the perfect city,
after misery is added to the description. And
thus it remains a fair question: Can we believe
in a city with that misery extracted? Can we
even imagine such a thing?
•
Those Who Leave
and Those Who Stay
From “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
By Ursula K. Le Guin
1973
121.
Further Reading
Barber, Peter.
e Map Book.
Walker & Company, .
A rich collection of 175 gorgeous maps of dierent parts of the world from through
-
out human history, accompanied by short essays by map historians. Barber’s book
follows the progress of mapmaking from hand-drawn illustrations to digital
renderings, and reads the historyof man and the world through maps of our
own making.
Brotton, Jerry.
A History of the World in 12 Maps.
Penguin Books, .
A historical work considering how twelve maps (plus a number of additional
cartographic works providing context) areintrinsically connected to the political
views and campaigns of the times in which they were made.
Eco, Umberto.
e Book of Legendary Lands.
Rizzoli Ex Libris, .
Eco’s beautiful monograph provides an illustrated tour of great imaginary worlds
found in literature, from
Gulliver’sTravels
to
e Lord of the Rings
to
Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland
. e maps are paired with rich informationand oer
a unique perspective on how literature and reality inform one another.
Gareld, Simon.
On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way
the World Looks.
Gotham, .
What are maps to us, and why are we obsessed with them? Gareld takes a closer
look at our relationships with worlds laid out before us on paperand delves into
specic historical maps that speak to more than just location and distance.
124.
Harmon, Katharine.
You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps
of the Imagination.
Princeton Architectural Press, .
Harmon explores the dierent constructions of maps and how they each express
space, meaning, and time. Some examples include a “hand map,” a “map of tender
-
ness” drawn on the bottom of someone’s feet, and a “map of the various paths of life.”
Harmon, Katharine, and Gayle Clemans.
e Map as Art: Contemporary
Artists Explore Cartography.
Princeton Architectural Press, .
A follow-up to
You Are Here
, Harmon extends her map collection and adds 360
new renderings by various artists, with their commentaries on howthey construct
and perceive their maps.
Jennings, Ken.
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography
Wonks.
Scribner, .
Best known for his record-breaking run on
Jeopardy!
, Jennings takes us around
the world to showus how maps are an integral part of how wesee and interact
with the world. ough
Maphead
actually has moretext than maps, it’swritten
in a wonderfully entertaining voice with funny anecdotes, clever insights, and
a deep love and understanding for maps that will interest eventhose who don’t
like geography.
Turchi, Peter.
Maps of the Imagination: e Writer as Cartographer.
Trinity
University Press, .
is is a book as much about writing as it is about maps. For the book and map
lovers out there,
Maps of the Imagination
examines the process of how we create
landscape and geography from stories and narratives in our minds to physically
realizing these worlds on paper.
And don’t forget about all the great
books and stories that we’ve mapped here!
125.
Acknowledgments
T
here are a lot of people to thank for helping making this book possible, but
rst among them is my wonderful wife, Michelle. is never would have
happened without her encouragement and support. Helping with research, art
direction, color-consultations — she’sbeen utterly amazing. I would also like
to thank my family,Mom and Dad in particular, for welcoming me as their
“artist-in-residence” while we were in the middle of moving, and for their en
-
couragement and excitement about the book throughout. ey both instilled
in me the importance of books and nurtured a joyin reading that I hope this
book might now provide for others as well. (anks are also owed to them for
art school. And for letting me draw in church — and everywhere else.) Over
the past year my mom in particular has provided cheerleading, conversation
breaks, and book recommendations, and has been the kind of one-woman
PR machine that only one’smom can be. She is also an incredible teacher, and
this book has a lot do with her. My brother and I are but two of the hundreds
who have been lucky enough to call her their teacher, and I was fueled as
much by her spirit as my own. anks to my brother, Nate, for listening to me
complain, and doing so with friendship, humor, and compassion as you always
have. And to Katie and Ellie (a.k.a. Baby Squishy) for starring in all of those
amazing videos, which mean so much when you’reacross the country and
missing your family — especially the rookies (that means you too, Baby V.).
anks to my invaluable intern and Philly summer studio mate, the talented
Andrew Diemer. anks to the all the Communication Design faculty and stu
-
dents at Pratt Institute for advice and inspiration. Thanks to Gallery for
showing, promoting, and supporting my movie maps over the past seven years.
And thanks to all the people who have bought a painting or print and supported
this strange, wonderful project of mapping ction.
Lastly,thanks to everyone at Zest Books for the faith in me and this project.
anks to Olivia Ngai for all the timelines, synopses, internet-combing, and
just generally amazing research. anks to this book’sdesigner, Adam Grano,
for putting it all together and making it all make sense (and look good at
the same time). Finally,thanks to Daniel Harmon for nding my maps, cre
-
ating this quest, and then sharing in the adventure as editor, co-conspirator,
and consigliere.
—AD
126.
Andrew DeGra
(left) is a freelance illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay
Area. His clients include Kellogg’s, Visa, Gap Kids, Bed Bath & Beyond, the
New York Times
, and the
New York Observer
. You can view more of his work
at AndrewDegra.com.
Daniel Harmon
(right) is a former sta writer for Brokelyn.com, an occa
-
sional essayist on the topic of Tommy Wiseau’s lm
e Room
, and the author
of the book
Super Pop! Pop CultureTop Ten Lists to Help You Win at Trivia,
Survive in the Wild, and Make It rough the Holidays
(2013).
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