Essay on the Book Cover as Thematic Indicator

A phrase discourages us from judging a book by its outward appearance because one cannot know the real quality of the story unless they take their time to go through the pages and understand the characters and the prose. However, we cannot ignore the role a cover because it is the first that catches ones eye when they walk past a display of books and they find themselves grabbing the specific book and probably peruse through the pages or even read the back.

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A cover is not only a physical manifestation of the ideas that the author has put together but also the principles and aesthetics of the culture (The Art Of American Book Covers, 1875-1930). The audience of the drama play tends to get personal connections with the book cover. It can have different influence on the reader such as taking offence, creating amusement, or creating disinterest.

A cover can be created it a way that shows and not tell. The essence this is to avoid exposing too much by showing through actions, senses, words or feelings. This was done by depicting the antagonists, the protagonists even the faces in the cover designs (Harrild, Anthony).The covers could be an illustration or a snap of the characters some action from a scene that is in the book. A good example of this kind of cover is Alien Planet. From this kind of cover, the person who comes across the literature work can clearly be able to tell what they are likely to encounter in the content. However, there has been a shift from this type of design to those that are simple by use of symbols and those that have less exposure. The covers act as movie trailers where one can either feel like they have watched the entire movie in two minutes or where they are left eager to see more because it only gave a sneak peak of the whole leaving some mystery.

The use of symbols can also help promote the theme of the drama play because it is not too literal and it does not expose too much while at the same time achieves the goal of representing the concept intended. For example the cover by David Drummond for The Lonely Polygamist, the use of many wedding rings is to symbolize the marriage that is polygamous the red color that is seen on the finger symbolizes the hurt and stress.

The genre of the piece of literature can also be shown on the cover through various color palettes, imagery or even the typography chosen. A combination of these artistic devices signals to the consumer of what to expect if they crack the book open or even decide to do a quick skim of the synopsis at the back (Vanderschantz, Nicholas and Claire Timpany). The choice of the colors goes a long way to give the potential reader the type of story to expect. For instance in the case of Frankenstein that regarded by many to be a gothic horror storyline, the use of the dark reds and the black palette together with the lightening conveys this message from the first glance. On the other hand, literature works meant for children such as Anne Green Mables , has a beautiful cover with feminine colors and even some flowery.

The use of visual effects on photographs can also help to illuminate the theme of the drama play in writing. It can enhance the message that the author wants intends to attract the reader to take interest in by pricking their curiosity (Rhomberg, Andrew and View ). A good case in point is Disguise where there is a blur effect on the photograph and types are over vital parts of the face to drive home the idea of disguise. There are many ways to evoke more of the themes in the content through careful adjustments of different colors, texture and effects.

The use of an image of the human body also creates a certain desire on the literature works with such a cover especially among the young people. Such an image has a rhetorical appeal to the customer of the book even if it is part of it. The use of obscure and anonymous images of bodies on covers sometimes enables the imaginations of the person who sees them to go wild as they give an array of likely interpretations. The reader usually develops how they interpret what they see through reading the wording. The fragments of the boy image can create a feeling of personally connecting to the characters in the book. When there are partial images of models to show physical representation of the protagonists, it also leaves the person who reads with room to visualize the characters in his or her own way. (Vanderschantz, Nicholas and Claire Timpany) The use of images of people on the covers has the potential to elicit a more personal reaction by the reader. The part of the body that appears on the cover also gives a glimpse of what the text is trying to tell.

References

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Harrild, Anthony. "'Do Judge A Book By Its Cover'". Book 2.0, vol 1, no. 1, 2012, Intellect, doi:10.1386/btwo.1.1.3_2.

Kesner, Raymond P. "A Book In Search Of A Common Theme.". Psyccritiques, vol 22, no. 3, 1977, American Psychological Association (APA), doi:10.1037/015790.

Melton, Sonja and Austin Melton. "Using Powerpoint In Theme Development". International Journal Of The Book, vol 4, no. 3, 2007, pp. 21-24. Common Ground Publishing, doi:10.18848/1447-9516/cgp/v04i03/36591.

Powers, Alan. Children's Book Covers. 1st ed., London, Mitchell Beazley, 2003,.

Rhomberg, Andrew and View →. "Why Publishers Should A/B Test Book Covers - Digital Book World". Digital Book World, 2017, http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2016/its-the-cover-stupid-why-publishers-should-ab-test-book-covers/.

"The Art Of American Book Covers, 1875-1930". Choice Reviews Online, vol 48, no. 01, 2010, pp. 48-0073-48-0073. American Library Association, doi:10.5860/choice.48-0073.

Vanderschantz, Nicholas and Claire Timpany. "Who Says You CanT Judge A Book By ItS Cover?". International Journal Of The Book, vol 10, no. 4, 2013, pp. 1-17. Common Ground Publishing, doi:10.18848/1447-9516/cgp/v10i04/36995.