The Door by E.B. White
Visual Interpretation
Narrative Structures

instructor: John Brumfield


The Door, by E.B. White is a short story which has a basic idea that what you think is real perhaps isn't and what you think isn't real perhaps is. The first line begins, "Everything (he kept saying) is something it isn't. And everybody is always somewhere else."

There are many levels of interpretation for this short story that are psychological in some ways and ambigous in others. The story weaves you in and out of the mind of one man.

We were asked to create a visual interpretation of the story that would help an audience better understand the content of this difficult piece. I had to read The Door over 5 times to really start seeing the deeper meanings within it.

I decided to create a pocketbook for my visualization. I felt the size would help support the claustraphobic feeling of the main character. The entire piece was intended to feel dark and a llittle depressing. I attempted to make the reader feel how the main character did.

Below are select layouts within the pocketbook. You can view the entire book here.

To view the layouts in their proper spreads in Acrobat: View > Page Display > Two-Up
To view the layouts in Preview: View > PDF Display > Facing Spaces