Jonas Hartmann January 2023

Matrikelnummer: 10051897
Anna-Lena Oldehus
AmerBritF1

Interpretation of Eisner´s A Life Force

The graphic novel A Life Force, by Will Eisner, was published in 1978. The story is part
of Will Eisner´s The Contract with God Trilogy and portrays the life of poor men in
different simultaneously playing stories after the crash of the stock market in 1929.
Throughout the stories of the graphic novel, the men cross each other's paths, which
leads to major changes in each man's life. It all ends with the individuals finally getting
a job. The connection between the different stories comes down to their tenement life
in New York. Therefore, I contend that New York and especially the tenement is
depicted as a dark and sinister place where the Great Depression is summed up and
represented. Eisner uses visual, but also narrative styles and thus I will use his
structure and style to support this contendment.
Eisner intentionally presents his graphic novel without the usage of colors. This
presents the phase of the Great Depression the people are living in. Speaking of the
Great Depression, New York and especially the tenement is represented as the main
place where the impact of this crisis on the protagonists is represented. For instance,
every character finds himself in the building at the end of a depressing day (Eisner
204, 224, 225). As a result, the characters find a way to influence the life of one another
with all of them living in the same depressing time and place. As an example of the
influence the men take in each other's life, it has to be highlighted that Angelo only got
a desperately needed job because Jacob asked for his support (Eisner 236, 237). In
addition to the building and the city representing the Great Depression of the
protagonists, Eisner created walls everywhere in the course of his graphic novel to
portray a feeling of being imprisoned and stuck in the Great Depression. Eisner,
though, included one exception when he shows Manhattan on one of his panels.
Adding to that, the heading of this panel says “ESPCAPEE – South, Southwest across
the Harlem River where the Bronx ends, is Manhattan Island. There… is the land of
promise” (Eisner 205). With this quote and the illustration Eisner not only depicts

1
Manhattan as a borderless and promising City, but also shows it as an island. By that
the author draws a drastic line between the depressing New York and the bright
Manhattan due to his division from an island and a city. In addition, Eisner uses the
metaphor of the windows as a way to escape the feeling of the Great Depression, as
no one can go through them. This is illustrated with two of the protagonists being on
the edge of leaving the tenement through the window, but they cannot get out. (Eisner
224, 225, 236). Whereas, another character is placed in the exact opposite situation.
He, on the other hand, has trouble entering the building and as he crosses the
threshold, he does so in a depressed and unmotivated way (Eisner 202-204).
Moreover, Eisner presents background information to the reader by including
excerpts of newspaper articles as splash pages in his graphic novel. On the basis of
those articles, the reader is provided a better view of the bad living conditions in New
York and the sorrow of the people because the articles are all negatively connotated
(Eisner 186, 218-222). One passage, though, says “Rate of Death since 1929 has
reduced” (Eisner 186). By including this excerpt, the author tries to make his point clear
that even though the living conditions get worse and the darkness among the people
gets worse due to the Great Depression, it is now more difficult to escape this time
than before it happened.
Concerning the narrative aspects in the graphic novel, the style is completely
congruent to the style and mood of the sad New York. The author tells the whole story
through a heterodiegetic narrator which forms a neutral way of narration. By using this
style of narration, the information of the city and the tenement life is represented
objectively and Eisner has the opportunity to depict the sadness of the protagonists in
a clear way. For instance, Jacob answers his partners question how his day was in a
neutral way due to the heterodiegetic narrator while maintaining his state of emotion in
his answer (Eisner 211).
Moreover, Eisner illustrates the depressing influence New York and the
tenement life has on its citizens with his concept/graphic style of the graphic novel.
Throughout his work, no structure of panels can be seen. Some panels are presented
on whole pages in for of splash pages without gutters, while other pages are filled with
multiple panels having different types of gutters. Adding to that, each panel forms a
different shape and different size to express different emotions. By using an
unorganized style, Eisner draws a conclusion to the also unorganized life of the
protagonists living in the time of the Great Depression in the tenement in New York.

2
These citizens are poor, most of the time unemployed and even are in contact with
violence and crime. Angelo, for instance, needs to spy on a neighbor to secure his life
in New York (Eisner 234). Likewise does Jacob need to secure his life by finding a job
(Eisner 211). It is obvious that the Great Depression, with its root in New York, is
highlighted by the unorganized lifestyle of the protagonists.
In conclusion, New York and especially the tenement is a horrible place for the
protagonists in Will Eisner´s graphic novel. Everything that stays in touch with the city
or architecture presents the Great Depression. Even after Jacob and Angelo get hired,
their life and joy are still restricted. On the one hand Jacob got offered a temporary
employment which only helps him for some time, on the other hand Angelo still is in
touch with crime as he is forced to spy on one of his neighbors. Will Eisner brilliantly
conveys this darkness and imprisonment of the unescapable city and tenement
throughout the graphic novel by using a specific, unorganised style in his work,
describing the architecture and city itself and drawing parallels to the Great Depression
the people are living in.

3
Sources

Eisner, Will. The Contract with God Trilogy W.W. Norten and Company, London/New
York, 1978.