In Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel entitled Fun Home, the author expresses her life in a comical manner where she explains the relationship between her and her family, pointedly her father who acts as a father figure to the family as she undergoes her exhaustive search for sexuality. Furthermore, the story describes the relationship between a daughter and a father with inversed gender roles as sexuality is questioned. Throughout the novel, the author suggests that one’s identity is impacted by their environment because one’s true self is created through the ability of a person to distinguish reality from fictional despotism.
In Fun Home, Alison principally characterizes her desire for a masculine life while trying to find herself in an environment
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In The Great Gatsby, it is evident by Jay Gatsby’s surroundings that his life is the epitome of the American Dream, although it clearly is not to the people that are closest to him. As Bruce stated the next book that was to be read (61 panel 5), Alison Bechdel describes her father as the representation of a man that does not reflect upon his choices before making them. Similar to him, Bruce Bechdel portrays himself as a lavish scholar, with many acquire abilities far beyond anyone else, when in reality every aspect of his life is a façade used to show that he is great and can take care of himself. Through the characters Jay Gatsby and Bruce, it is imperative to note that they coincidentally succumb to the same storyline of confused men who succumb to the outrages of society while changing their attitudes without realizing it as stated in The Great Gatsby as Jay cannot be recognized as money changes men (Fitzgerald 81). Although Bruce Bechdel is not expressively wealthy, his goal remains to be condescending to everyone around him despite the comments he receives from his peers or outsiders as his actions become those of a person that does not need anyone in order to become successful which then leads to Bruce’s egocentrism. Jay Gatsby also shows signs of a rich man, and acquires the materialistic mindset of rich men, whereas Bruce Bechdel does not demonstrate nor show those signs but he simply puts his mind in a world where he is the authority and everyone else is a subordinate to
Bechdel addresses some points that we see in today’s world regarding fatherhood and homosexuality, and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, does a very good connecting those points with today’s society. Overall, she was able to understand and come to conclusions about things that she never understood while growing up. It was not until Bechdel was a little older and her father had passed away, that she realized that her father had a funny way of showing love. “But in the tricky reverse narration that impels our entwined stories, he was there to catch me when I leapt.” (Bechdel 232) The fact that that Alison’s father, Bruce, and herself were hiding their homosexuality and living a life that was far from normal, she was able to realize that the way her father was present in her life at that time, had to do a lot with gender role confusion, not knowing who he really was or accepting the truth leading him to his death. Besides the fact that her father never really showed much affection towards her, she still knew that her father cared in his own
In the memoir, Fun Home, Alison Bechdel effectively depicted her life as a child all the way up to age nineteen when she finally decided to come out to her family. Growing up Alison’s path crossed paths with struggles that try to hinder her while she attempts to grasp on to the identity of being homosexual. Even though Bechdel encounter struggles she is able to overcome those struggles in a supportive environment. Despite her father, Bruce Bechdel homosexuality, which was unknown to Alison for the majority of her life could possibly be the emotional core of Fun Home. In actuality, it is Alison 's personal coming out party that assists her mother, Helen Bechdel, to expose Bruce 's hidden relationships to Alison. Effectively, the process of writing the memoir has really permitted Bechdel to reminisce about her father through the spectacles of her experiences, later giving her the chance to reveal clues about her father 's undercover desires that she was incapable of interpreting at the moment. In a scene where Bruce takes his openly queer daughter to a gay bar embodies the dissimilarities amongst Bruce and Alison 's attitudes of dealing with their homosexuality. Bruce tussles with the shame of hiding his
In an attempt to become more like her father she tries emulate him, as he tries to make her become anything but him. As she develops, she becomes more aware of masculinity and acutely aware that her father doesn’t fit the definition. Bechdel sees men at gas stations and on television and realizes that her father is missing something that those men seem to have. In her endeavor to counteract his femininity, she becomes more masculine. Although, even at a very young age, Bechdel doesn’t show interest for feminine things. Alison seems to be oblivious to all of her father’s attempts. In this image the reader sees Bechdel analyzing all of men at the gas station. Alison drew this frame to show her readers what it was she was noticing when she was young. The men in this image are more built than her father, they dress in more casual clothes with tattoos and chew tins. However, she doesn’t seem to pay attention to the ad of the Sunbeam Bread in the background with the image of Miss Sunbeam. It is as if Alison wants her readers to know that she was given chances to evaluate what girls her age should be like but she was more interested in knowing what men were like. She was often seen in gender neutral clothes, with a boyish haircut and as she got older, her father became more direct with his wants for her to dress like a girl; she resented having to wear skirts, dresses, or accessories and
Fun Home shows how as the reader we can become educated and heal from the stories like that of Alison Bechdel’s childhood. We also can see Alison’s journey of healing as well. This full circle journey is why literature is so versatile and important to our society and culture. We depend on the creation and growth of literary themes like the ones we see in Fun House to help us grow and deal with the real world.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him.
The Great Gatsby, a novel by Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its impossible goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is used in many novels. This dream is different for different people; but, in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is that through wealth and power, one can acquire happiness. To get this happiness Jay must reach into the past and relive an old dream; and, in order to do this, he must have wealth and power.
Jay Gatsby, who is one of the main characters of the Great Gatsby, is a man with a mysterious background and an unknown personality. He doesn't mention too much about his past except certain fabricated highlights of his life which were designed to impress others. The strange and humorous thing is that he carries articles of evidence that back up most of his lies to prove that he isn't lying. Gatsby is also the kind of man that is used to getting what he wants no matter what the consequences are, causing him to be a very determined man that once has an idea in his mind won't let it go until he accomplishes it. The things that Jay Gatsby values the most is money, to impress others and gain acceptance and most of all, having things his own way. In a manner, these are some of the characteristics of the American Dream and what people strive for when they come to America.
In the graphic novel Fun Home, by Allison Bechdel, sexual self-discovery plays a critical role in the development of the main character, Allison Bechdel herself; furthermore, Bechdel depicts the plethora of factors that are pivotal in the shaping of who she is before, during and after her sexual self-development. Bechdel’s anguish and pain begins with all of her accounts that she encountered at home, with her respective family member – most importantly her father – at school, and the community she grew up within. Bechdel’s arduous process of her queer sexual self-development is throughout the novel as complex as her subjectivity itself. Main points highlight the difficulties behind which are all mostly focused on the dynamics between her and her father. Throughout the novel, she spotlights many accounts where she felt lost and ashamed of her coming out and having the proper courage to express this to her parents. Many events and factors contributed to this development that many seem to fear.
The lives of men and women are portrayed definitively in this novel. The setting of the story is in southern Georgia in the 1960’s, a time when women were expected to fit a certain role in society. When she was younger she would rather be playing ...
In Fun Home: A Family Tragic Comic, Alison Bechdel uses the graphic novel technique of bringing visuals and concise text to her audience to reveal the relationship with her father in a perspective that can not be modified through the readers perspective and interpretation. Bechdel employs this type of writing style to help visualize a better interpretation of how she describes the differences in both her and her fathers’ gender roles throughout the novel. This tactic helps discuss and show how these gender roles were depicted as opposite from one another. But, in this case being opposite from one another made them gain a stronger relationship of understanding and reviling that these differences were actually similarities they also shared.
In society, there has always been a gap between men and women. Women are generally expected to be homebodies, and seen as inferior to their husbands. The man is always correct, as he is more educated, and a woman must respect the man as they provide for the woman’s life. During the Victorian Era, women were very accommodating to fit the “house wife” stereotype. Women were to be a representation of love, purity and family; abandoning this stereotype would be seen as churlish living and a depredation of family status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Henry Isben’s play A Doll's House depict women in the Victorian Era who were very much menial to their husbands. Nora Helmer, the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” both prove that living in complete inferiority to others is unhealthy as one must live for them self. However, attempts to obtain such desired freedom during the Victorian Era only end in complications.
Book Analysis F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of "The Great Gatsby," reveals many principles about today's society and the "American dream. " One of the biggest fears in today's world is the fear of not fitting into society. People of all age groups and backgrounds share this fear. Many individuals believe that to receive somebody's affection, they must assimilate into that person's society. In the story, Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream and his passion for being happy only to come to a tragedy and total loss.
Many endeavor to attain love, prosperity, high status, and supremacy. Throughout the years, the American dream has fluctuated. Due to the fluctuation of the American dream, the possession of material items is an indication of attaining success. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is a self-made man who went from rags to riches. Gatsby's clarity is so clouded by his luxurious possessions that he does not see that money cannot buy neither happiness nor love. Fitzgerald's novel exhibits how both materialism and greed have taken place of the American dream.
“Money can’t buy happiness” is a saying that is often used to make one understand that there is more to life than wealth and money. Jay Gatsby was a man of many qualities some of which are good and bad. Throughout the book of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we learn of his past and discover the true qualities of Jay Gatsby. Starting from the bottom, with little money, we learn of why Gatsby struggled so hard all his life to become wealthy and what his true goal in life was. When reading this story, the true reasons behind Gatsby’s illegal actions reveal themselves and readers can learn a great life lesson from this story and the actions the characters take. Readers can see through Gatsby’s contradictions of actions and thoughts that illustrate the theme of the story, along with his static characteristics, that all humans are complex beings and that humans cannot be defined as good or bad.
Every family has secrets. Taboo secrets are typically the one's we'd like to keep hidden the most. Unfortunately, what's done in the dark always finds itself resurfacing to the light. In Allison Bechdel "Fun Home", she recollects the memories that impacted her life the most when she was in the stage of discovering her true self. The memories we remember the most tend to play a major role in our life development. For Allison, one well-kept secret that her father contained well from her, unraveled many memories of the truth that laid before her eyes.