Graphic Novel Adaptations And The Crisis Of The Ideal Reader: A Reception Theory Analysis

Abstract

Graphic novel adaptations of canonical literary works challenge fundamental assumptions within contemporary reception theory, particularly the privileged status of the ideal reader construct. This paper examines how graphic novels expose the limitations of traditional reader response frameworks that marginalize visual literacy and multimodal interpretive competencies. Through analysis of graphic novel adaptations of "The Great Gatsby" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," this study demonstrates how these multimodal texts fundamentally disrupt the hierarchy between ideal and actual readers. Graphic novels reveal that visual-oriented readers possess sophisticated interpretive capabilities that have been systematically devalued in text-centric literary theory. The multimodal nature of graphic adaptations creates interpretive spaces where actual readers' diverse cultural knowledge, visual literacy, and experiential backgrounds function as legitimate hermeneutic resources rather than theoretical deficiencies. This analysis argues that graphic novels do not merely offer alternative access to literary content but fundamentally re-conceptualize what constitutes literary competence within reception theory. The study demonstrates how graphic novel adaptations activate distinct reader competencies that expose the inadequacy of the traditional ideal reader paradigm for understanding contemporary interpretive practices. These findings necessitate a theoretical reconsideration of reader response models that can accommodate the interpretive complexity revealed by graphic novels, suggesting that multimodal literary texts democratize interpretation by validating multiple forms of reader expertise within nowadays increasingly visual culture.