Fun home themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. It has won several award and was nominated for 2007 eisner awards. Like marjane satrapis persepolis, its a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form. Bechdels novel the fun home indicates the struggling and challenges experienced by a young girl in her parents home which had secretive moves that others did not know. The use of dense canonical literary allusions in fun home for the analysis of bechdels own narrative is a logical effect with this type of familial intimacy.
Growing up in a home of artists, literature became the best way for alison bechdel to communicate and connect with her family. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel. In 2008, fun home faced the first of three challenges at the postsecondary level a rare feat for any book. Jul 05, 2012 this book does serve as an important entry in lgbt canon building within the field of comics, and studying it from this perspective would be a worthwhile pursuit1. Crumb with a seriousness, emotional complexity and innovation completely its own. Her latest work the innovative, bestselling genrebusting, graphic narrative fun home has been conventional her as one of americas most talented and amazing memoirists as well. As the nickname implies, their interaction with the fun home gave them a desensitized and often cavalier attitude towards death. Alisons grandma lived in the same building as the funeral home, and alison and her brothers would often stay over and force grandma to tell the same story over and over. The titles fun home refers to the family funeral parlour where her father worked and is an appropriate setting for bechdels investigation of loss and grief. Fun home is the first text of the second semester, a semester that also includes freud, marx and the declaration of independence.
Essay examples of fun home a family tragicomic analysis. Alison bechdel include complex themes of homosexuality, suicide, and. First published in 2006, this graphic novel has received highly positive acclaim from critics. A student assigned to read the book in an english class at the university of utah objected to its content and was offered an alternate assignment in accordance with the schools religious accommodation policy. A family tragicomic is an exciting autobiography with comics that bring her story to life. Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir that led alison bechdel to commercial and critical success. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Rather than retelling a story, analyzing a book entails asking critical questions about the authors and the characters motivations and messages.
Fun home creator alison bechdel on turning a tragic. Fun home is a graphic memoir in which alison bechdel describes her childhood and early adulthood. The creators of sparknotes fun home themes from litcharts. Young alison bechdel lives in pennsylvania with helen, bruce, and her little brothers christian and john. My fathers death was a queer business queer in every sense of that multivalent word. A family tragicomic book is telling about in this graphic memoir, alison bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father. Perhaps that is one reason why it was a finalist for the national book critics circle award, and the winner of the stonewall book award for nonfiction, in 2006. Alison bechdel include complex themes of homosexuality, suicide, and gender roles within her novel. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of fun home by alison bechdel.
Finally, close analysis of alisons drawings helps us to better grasp how she views her world and the people in it. A family tragicomic, by alison bechdel the new york. In fact, an analysis of goodreads statistics shows increased interest in the graphic novel. A family tragicomic is an autobiographical graphic novel that focuses on the authors relationship with her father. Fun home must be the most ingeniously compact, hyperverbose example of autobiography to have been produced. This will enable you to analyze the book and better comprehend its positive and negative attributes.
Reminiscent of art spiegelmans maus, fun home explores the relationship between alison and her closeted father, bruce bechdel, to shed light on themes such as gender, the comingout process, and the complicated dynamics of family life. A family tragicomic, an awesome graphic novel by american cartoonist alison bechdel. Combining two genres, comic and memoir, alison bechdels graphic novel fun home is now showing as a. But alison, bruce, and helen each engage with fiction in different ways. Jun 08, 2006 it is also the familys residence and the fun home of the title. A family tragicomic, by allison bechdel 1762 words 8 pages. Fun home is a musical adapted by lisa kron and jeanine tesori from alison bechdels 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. Fun home study guide contains a biography of alison bechdel, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Similar to the previous examples of parallelism, this one serves to align alison bechdel with her father. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on fun home by alison bechdel. A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. Fun home quotes showing of 30 i suppose that a lifetime spent hiding ones erotic truth could have a cumulative renunciatory effect. Essay on the experience of teaching fun home, and why. In addition to those themes, she makes a wide variety of literary references that many readers may or may not be familiar with.
Nov 05, 2017 a scene from the musical version of bechdels graphic memoir, fun home. It focuses specifically on her parents, helen and bruce, and their role in her life. Fun home summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Write a news article about an important event from the book. Fun home study guide from litcharts the creators of. Its the story of her growing up, her coming of age. More specifically, fun home is the story of alisons coming of age while grappling with her lesbian gender identity and the way that identity differs from the expectations imposed on her by. Hoaxes about us politics were among the topperforming fake news content on facebook in 2016, according to an analysis by buzzfeed news. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of fun home.
If you need an original literary analysis essay written from scratch, place your order at. Fun home is alison bechdels graphic memoir of her life growing up. Bruce and helen had been living in europe, but the death of. Read the full literary analysis essay paper on literary analysis. This witty graphic novel focused on family relationships, sexual orientation and grief resonates with a comforting honesty and. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel tracing her journey from young girl to young adult as she comes to grips with her own lesbian sexuality, her father bruce s most likely suicide, and his secret homosexuality or bisexuality that he kept hidden throughout his life while having affairs with underage boys. The literary references in fun home the window seat. The importance of literature in fun home otherwomenswords. The title of the novel centers around the home set up of the author whose family was involved in a funeral business hence the title fun home. As a matter of fact, fun home isnt your average anything.
In alison bechdels autobiographical graphic novel fun home. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on alison bechdels fun home. Fun home s narrative in nonlinear and moves fluidly between the past and the present, revisiting central incidents over and over again. Though bechdel known for her syndicated dykes to watch out for strip and collections takes her formal cues from comic books, she receives more inspiration from the likes of proust and joyce as she attempts to unravel the knots of her familys twisted emotional. Fun home creator alison bechdel on turning a tragic childhood. Bulging with literary allusions from proust to scott fitzgerald, fun home is a book that demands to be read again and again. Fun home is a hard book, butfilled with love and hate and glory and discontent and tragedy and hopeits also a powerful one. Alison bechdel wrote this book about her childhood, the relationship she had with her father and one of the many things they shared in common, their sexuality. Fun homes producers decided it necessitated a rebranda job that went to spotco, the marketing agency that has worked on hit shows such as hamilton, the. Sep 16, 2016 described by the times of london as a profound and important book fun home. Her fathers death is queer because he had been secretly queer at least to her until just before his death. Alison bechdel has been known for decades as one of the best, one to watch out for, in the words of harvey pekar. Fun home is featured with its liberal use of literary references.
Alison bechdel demonstrates this method of expression in her book fun home, a memoir that showcases alisons growth journey as she. Fun home if you need an original literary analysis essay written from scratch, place your order at. The more gratification we found in our own geniuses, the more isolated we grew. This study guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of fun home. However, there are other, less obvious aspects to fun home that set it apart from the rest, things which readers should be aware.
In fun home, the bechdel family constantly, and perhaps compulsively, engages with fiction. Ultimately, the south carolina legislatures attack on fun home did little to dampen the popularity of the book. The book has successfully gained critical acclaims and also some controversy. A family tragicomic illustrates the plight of a lesbian growing up in a household filled with secrets in every nook and cranny. The story jumps back and forth in time with a main focus on bechdels relationship. Bechdels memoir offers a graphic narrative of uncommon richness, depth, literary resonance and psychological complexity. It chronicles the authors childhood and youth in rural pennsylvania, united states, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. Aspects to consider when writing a collegelevel book analysis include context, setting, plot, character development and theme. Jun 18, 2014 an analysis of fun home by alison bechdel using understanding comics by scott mccloud once again, i really really enjoyed this graphic novel. The story concerns bechdels discovery of her own sexuality, her relationship with her gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life.
A family tragicomic by readbook 19 september 2017 a fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel tracing her journey from young girl to young adult as she comes to grips with her own lesbian sexuality, her father bruce s most likely suicide, and his secret homosexuality or bisexuality that he kept hidden throughout his life while having affairs with underage boys the memoir starts with alison as a young girl. How do these media contribute to the authenticity of the book and influence her art. It depicts allisons childhood and understanding her sexual identity. That old catastrophe bechdel describes her fathers death as being queer in every sense of the word.
You can find a book to read online, at the library or bookstore. Alison bechdels cult following for her early comic strip dykes to watch out for expanded wildly for her family memoirs, the bestselling graphic memoir fun home, adapted into a tony awardwinning musical, and are you my mother. After reading this book i bet a lot of people are asking. This is an explanation about alison bechdels graphic novel fun home. I have been somewhat surprised at the fact that these authors have chosen to express such serious and heavy subjects through the medium of comics. Apr 25, 2016 fun homes producers decided it necessitated a rebranda job that went to spotco, the marketing agency that has worked on hit shows such as hamilton, the book of mormon, and school of rock. Home fun home discussion guide libguides at ramapo.
Before writing a chapter summary, you must first thoroughly understand what you have read. This breakout book by alison bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitchperfectly illustrated with bechdels sweetly gothic drawings. A literary analysis of fun home, a novel by alison bechdel. Dos and donts in writing a chapter summary examples. Summarize the book into a comic or story aimed for younger students or your classmates. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family. It may be that the problems with the opening mythic allusion of the icarusdaedalus relationship coloured the remainder of my reading of bechdels graphic memoir. This book does serve as an important entry in lgbt canon building within the field of comics, and studying it from this perspective would be a worthwhile pursuit1. It was not until college that alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. Beneath his icy reserve and fussy perfectionism, he is a barely closeted homosexual and a suspected pedophile, an imposing but distant presence to his young daughter, who finds that their main bond is a shared literary sensibility. Bechdels book focuses on the authors coming to terms with being a lesbian, dealing with the revelation of her fathers homosexuality and discovering the true nature of their entwined stories. This is an example of bechdel using certain words with multiple applicable meanings.
For example, she describes her fathers death as queer in every sense. Write about the decisions you would make if you were the main character in the book. Well, she felt that is was an important time in her life to share and it was probably difficult for her because it took her 7 years to complete it. Fun homes narrative in nonlinear and moves fluidly between the past and the present, revisiting central incidents over and over again. Described by the times of london as a profound and important book fun home. May 07, 2012 bechdels novel the fun home indicates the struggling and challenges experienced by a young girl in her parents home which had secretive moves that others did not know. A family tragicomic, documents the authors discovery of her own and her fathers homosexuality. One example of this is the series of photos on page 120. A masterpiece about two people who live in the same house but different worlds, and their mysterious debts to each other. When daedalus is icarus and icarus is daedalus alison bechdel structures her graphic novel fun home with dense layers of literary and cultural allusions in an effort to understand and contextualize her relationships with members of her family and with the world in which she was raised.
Bechdel also compares the fatherson relationship in joyces novel with her own. These differences in the characters relationships to fiction dont end with their interactions with books and plays. Mar 18, 2014 she has a hard time maintaining interest in the book her father gave her, which could point to the strained relationship between the two of them. Therefore, the literary references make the book more interesting to read because the real. A family tragicomic, she uses literary allusions as a way to assist her in illustrating the strained relationship between herself and her father, as well as every other relationship in her life. I have been somewhat surprised at the fact that these authors have chosen to express such serious and heavy subjects through the. In fact, their shared love of literature is evident throughout bechdels memoir, and her frequent use of literary allusions as a lens through which she can analyze her life can be traced back to her father, bruce. Distant and exacting, bruce bechdel was an english teacher and director of the town funeral home, which alison and her family referred to as the fun home.
Alison bechdel writes, i employ these allusions to james and fitzgerald not only as descriptive devices, but because my parents are most real to me in fictional term bechdel 67. Twentythree of the 50 topperforming fake news hoaxes we found on facebook were focused on us politics. A family tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the american cartoonist alison bechdel, author of the comic strip dykes to watch out for. An analysis of fun home by alison bechdel using understanding. Jun 08, 2006 fun home isnt your average graphic autobiography.
Bechdel builds the narrative around the tragic event of her fathers death. The role of gender and literature in alison bechdels fun home. Read the material and take note of the of the highlights of the story. A family tragicomic, is a graphic memoir written and illustrated with an elaborate process by allison bechdel. Bechdels rich language and precise images combine to create a lush piece of work a memoir where. Dec 28, 20 the titles fun home refers to the family funeral parlour where her father worked and is an appropriate setting for bechdels investigation of loss and grief.
A family tragicomic, a graphic novel by alison bechdel, the author uses an intriguing combination of pictures and words to draw her. An analysis of fun home by alison bechdel using understanding comics by scott mccloud once again, i really really enjoyed this graphic novel. Bechdel has been named a macarthur fellow and cartoonist laureate of vermont, among many other honors. Jun 18, 2006 one example of this is the series of photos on page 120. Joan marcus in some ways, it the new information would have made it a less interesting book. The role of gender and literature in alison bechdels fun. A family tragicomic is an autobiographical graphic novel by american comic writer and artist alison bechdel. The title of the novel centers around the home set up of the author whose family was. Analysis of fun home by alison bechdel essay lee ann darte professor deborah brothers egl 10120 critical analysis. L ast summer, alison bechdel returned to the small pennsylvania town where she grew up population. Alison bechdels fun home and michel foucaults repressive hypothesis the valley of the shadow of text.
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