The Images of Polar Express - A Visual Grammar Analysis Exercise

Visit the official Chris Van Allsburg site at www.chrisvanallsburg.com/polarexpress.html and 'look inside the book' Polar Express.

How has Van Allsburg positioned the reader visually? Consider what Kress and van Leeuwen call Power Relations. What effect does this angle have on engaging the viewer?

The first image in the book, a young boy on all fours at the end of his bed gazing out his window, is 'shot from below'. This puts the reader in a position of uncertainty similar to the feelings expressed by the main character pictured. Placed at the eye level of a young child, this angle generates wonder and engages the reader and draws us into the story by making us want to find out what the boy can hear outside his window.

Where do the images fall on the Modality scale? How realistic are the images? What effect does this have on the meaning of the overall text? The last image in the book shows the reindeer bell, the first gift of Christmas given to the main character of Polar Express. The image of the bell is illustrated even more realistically than the preceding images. Why do you think this is so?

If you need a resource for teaching or learning about visual grammar please see the advertisement for our Visual Grammar Poster Set at the bottom of this blog.