Sunday 27 November 2011

Themes

"Fun Home revolves around the themes of gender roles, homosexuality, and fatherhood. Bechdel tells her story by interweaving all the themes into one piece that's nearly as complicated as her childhood itself"(personal).

GENDER ROLES & HOMOSEXUALITY












Bechdel and Bruce both struggled with gender roles and sexual orientation. The idea of what a man and a woman should be in society forces them to fit the description. Probably since they weren't sure on how to respond to these feelings. Back in the day, most people were really against these things.
Therefore, forcing them to keep these hidden desires private like Bruce's affairs with other men. By the time she was in college, Bechdel slowly comes to realize her sexual orientation and decides to be more open about it. Her courage to do so led her father to open up a bit as well.

FATHERHOOD

It was only after she came out about her lesbianism, did she soon began to realize that her and her father were very common than she thought. Their homosexuality brought them closer together now that they have that common bond. "She's able to draw connections and realize things she was never able to as a kid. She let's the reader understand her childhood, but only in the way she herself was able to come to understand it; the reader is only able to grasp the full meaning when they reach the end and can look back on everything that proceeded it"(personal). Despite of their bumpy relationship and Bruce's lacking in the fatherhood department, Bechdel knows he cares and loved her in his own way. "But in the tricky reverse narration that impels our entwined stories, he was there to catch me when I leapt"(pg 232).

Here's Alison Bechdel on television! Very funny how they really emphasize Bechdel being all "alone". Sounds quite depressing.  
Sources:
"Analysis and Evaluation of the Themes in Fun Home - Graphic Novels." Www.personal.psu.edu. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/kjo5071/blogs/graphic_novels/2010/10/analysis-and-evaluation-of-the-themes-in-fun-home.html>. 

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.

Heather Agoncillo
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2 comments:

  1. A Graphic Memoir by Alison Bechdel27 November 2011 at 18:11

    lol

    Channel 3 news portrays Alison as...

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  2. A Graphic Memoir by Alison Bechdel28 November 2011 at 10:13

    Hey Heather!

    Very strange how much that they harped on the topic of her being "alone" and "isolated". I find that almost offensive that they think alone-ness and being an artist go hand in hand. Hmmm, hahah.

    On another note, someitmes I wonder if Alison's confidence in being a public lesbian had anything to do with Bruce's death, perhaps shattering his "picture perfect home". Though he was gay himself and was okay with her being gay, I think it did something to him mentally when she came out, perhaps he felt that society would either judge them or him, or delve deeper into his sexuality...

    Right now I'm reading (and loving every minute of) The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman and the theme of psychological delusions and what people do when alone reminds me of Fun Home, especially about Bruce, who has obvious mental issues and illusions of grandeur about his "life".

    It's an awesome read!

    - Sabrina

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