An Analysis of Ghost World and Daniel Clowes' Voice

Daniel Clowes' Ghost World talks about two young adult girls and their lives, and the people in their lives. Their main struggle is to figure out who they will be after they graduate. The story begins with them arguing, really just light banter, about a magazine full of girls that aren't actually cool. Then they bounce around and discuss who likes who. Enid introduces us to John Ellis, an odd, kind of racist, creep. Rebecca makes fun of Enid liking John, but that's just not true. Later, Enid makes up this little story about seeing a pair of satanists in the diner. What's significant about this is that Enid and Rebecca continue to do this. It seems Clowes puts emphasis on their conversations and what they think. The girls make up stories of strangers, almost to figure out their motivations in life, just by looking at them. Enid and Rebecca fantasize about random strangers' lives in an effort to figure their own paths out.       

Later, Enid dyes her hair and begins to speak weird. Rebecca is thrown off by it, but they continue to observe people in daily life. Enid continues to change her appearance, and almost becomes more aggressive. All while Rebecca stays the same. From this, Clowes is trying to comment about the coming-of-age struggle. I noticed it when I graduated too. Around early college age, everyone goes through a change to become an adult, or some people do. A lot of people stay stagnant in their ways and thoughts and continue through college as if it were high school. Some people don't get that weird 1-2 year period where they can figure themselves out. Sometimes people have high school sweethearts that take away this period of contemplation. And then if they break up, they are both left with a hole that was meant to be filled during this period. This is something I've noticed anyway, plenty of people miss this experimental development stage, and later in their life feel as is something's missing. Ghost World is kind of a comment on that transition.