Perkal- Brie Boy

The story “Brie Boy” is about a boy named, Brie, who was not liked by other children.  Brie Boy never had anyone to play with and he wanted to be normal like everyone else but the way he looked caused people to judge him.  Through this story, we see the recurring themes of abandonment and outsiderness.  Similar to Edward Scissorhands, Brie Boy has no friends and as we see in the picture that Tim Burton drew, Brie Boy is all by himself.  Brie Boy seems to feel that he is not important in life, as it says, “but at least he went well with a nice chardonnay.”  His drawing of Brie Boy exposes how Brie looks scared and lonely because there is no one there for him to consult, similar to how Tim Burton felt all his childhood.  Tim Burton tries to get the point across to society that people who are outcasts have trouble fitting in society.  I think that he relates that stereotype to himself.  He seems to feel strongly about this theme because of how often he incorporates it into his stories and movies. The idea of being abandoned and an outsider all relates to how Tim Burton felt throughout his childhood.  Tim Burton was always drawing and kept to himself, as most of his main characters seem to be doing.  I think that Tim Burton portrays a lot of biographical criticism in his works.  He was always feeling out of place in California, where he lived with his family and he even was not understood in his job drawing for Disney.  Tim Burton was always a mystery and I feel that his characters have the same type of reclusive living. In terms of Jung’s archetypes, I think that shadow is used in the story of Brie Boy.   The shadow in all of us is described as our unconscious mind and all the ideas that lie in it.  It can appear in our dreams or visions as a monster or demon.  Brie Boy is in denial that he is different from everyone else and struggles to accept that he may look differently than the people around him.  Similarly to Edward Scissorhands, who tried to fit in with society until he realized that he succeeded in his art when he was by himself. Brie Boy dreams what it would be like if he looked differently and maybe he would not be an outcast anymore.