Literature or not?

In Alan Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance, the question is given if it should be considered literature. It is a graphic novel and is basically made up of pictures on every page, but should it be considered literature? I believe that the graphic novel should be considered literature.

If you literally translate the word literature, it means “acquaintance with letters.” It means to make known with letters, which is what any form of literature does. Any form of literature has a story or plot of some sort that allows the reader to gain something after reading it. The author lets their lesson be “known thought letters.” After that definition of literature, the graphic novel written by Moore does the same thing. Before reading the novel, the reader knows nothing about the work except what they can deduce from the cover and the title. The reader goes through the story, picking up bits and pieces that the letters give them, until they arrive at the end with the knowledge of the history of the television and Moore’s thoughts on the subject. In some ways, a graphic novel could be considered better than a regular novel. The pictures that coincide with the words help the reader understand the meaning much easier than if there were only words. This is one reason why Moore’s graphic novel should be considered a piece of literature.

Moore’s thoughts are subtly and bluntly put in throughout the work. I believe that the theme he is trying to show the readers is that television has become too big of a part of American’s lives. It has come to the point that the viewers are almost being controlled by the television itself with the commercials and such. Some people follow their shows religiously while forgetting to go to church or doing their homework. It is a huge distraction. This is the theme that Moore is trying to give to his viewers which is clear in his novel. Therefore, Moore’s Light of They Countenance should be considered literature.