Chapter 6, Show and Tell Summary and Analysis

In this chapter, Scott details the history of the written word and pictures. Young children are expected to read books with lots of pictures, but they are also expected to grow out of this habit as they mature. Traditional thinking holds that truly great works of literature and art are best appreciated when viewed separately. Works that combine pictures and words together are looked upon as simple diversions or examples of commercialism. The idea that combining words and pictures together is somehow "base or simplistic" really upsets Scott. He believes that comics would be more highly respected if people did not have this attitude toward combining the two art forms.

Evidence of drawings exists before evidence of written words, yet pictures are somehow considered less important than words. Scott explains that the earliest words are...