Free A Family Tragicomic Essay Sample
The text ‘Fun home: A Family Tragicomic’ talks about a girl who was raised in a family with weird family members. The family consists of a father, mother, brothers, and a daughter. The father behaves in a strange manner that leaves the daughter wondering. The father likes decorating the house; this makes the daughter to compare him to a ‘sissy’ (girl). The mother is almost invisible in the house. This shows that the father is the one who takes the position of the wife in the family. Alison later realizes that her father is a homosexual. This paper explains causes of Alison’s change in behavior, and the reasons that led to her rebellious nature.
The book ‘Fun home: A Family Tragicomic’ can be closely associated with books like ‘Darkly Family Memoirs’, and ‘It’s A Fathers-Daughter Tale’ by Augusten Burroughs. The author introduces readers to Alison’s father, who is an expert in preservation of historic artifacts, and has the obsession of restoring the old Victorian family house. He is also a high school English teacher, and a homosexual who is involved with male students in the school.
The book takes readers through a narrative experience. It tells of a daughter who wishes her father to behave like an ordinary father. Apart from dusting furniture and hanging mirrors on the walls; there was a close relationship between the father and his children. The text informs the readers that Alison and her brothers disliked the chores assigned to them. During adolescent stage, Alison grows into a homosexual; this occurs at the end of the book. The author brings readers closer to the life of Alison and her brothers. They dislike what their father is taking them through, but they are unable to oppose.
The narrative opens in an eloquent manner; this makes any review by the readers difficult. It revolves around the events of the death of Alison’s father. Her father is assumed to have committed suicide. All these events take place, when she writes to her parent informing them that she is coming home. Every chapter in the book follows a narrative form. Each chapter narrates what took place in the previous chapter. The story that concerns father and daughter is brought out piece after piece.
When the story is analyzed, it does not bring out its true theme or concept. The true theme unfolds at the end of the story. The last part reveals everything to the readers; events that occur take a fascinating turn. The book is written in a manner that the hidden is exposed. This takes place when Alison discovered her father’s secret. It also reveals the truth between the father and daughter. The book becomes intriguing when Alison discovered her father’s secret. This makes the book more compelling and the events realistic to the readers.
Early in the book, Alison narrates her background information as a child in the rural Pennsylvania. She narrates of her father who spent most of his time decorating the house, and her mother who was almost invisible in the house. The book gives readers little information of her mother and brothers.
Mr. Bruce Bechdel Alison’s father works as a high school teacher .He was also a home funeral director of the town. This makes Alison note that her father was an ideal husband. Ironically, this later prompts Alison’s mother to act in Oscar Wilde’s film the ‘Ideal Husband’. However, the mentioning of Wilde brings out a central theme. This theme is the transfer of behavior; also, the neglect of that behavior in current times. A different attitude towards the behavior is seen in two generations; the young and old generations.
Literature affects life and the interpretation of literature in life plays a crucial role in the book. Alison shares with readers her father’s interest to literature; and this provides a great opportunity for the analysis and interpretation of the text. Daeduls and Icarus myth is evoked at the commencement of the text. The two figures give readers a chance to have a close look at Alison’s father. The father is seen as an artificer of the facade and a fallen calamity. Comics are perceived to have a lot of narration that is textual, but the text ‘Fun home’ has limited narration. Bechedel integrates the texts and images in an approach that defies redundancy; the texts and images complement each other marvelously. The narration provides meaning to an image. This means that every image has a text that describes its meaning appropriately.
The text has a well written prose that coincides with alliteration that is poetic, and not overburdened; her images and drawings are effectual in narrating the story. Beckdel’s style is a simplified and reasonable representation of the universe. The representation of her characters is predominantly informing in the way expressions are mirrored and perceived by readers; this is seen in Alison and her father. It draws a connection that is visible to that of the story.
In Bechdel’s autobiography, she mentions the use of images that are photographic in order to accompany her nostalgia. Therefore, this account of details that is plentiful is found in several of the scenes. The strength of the story is gained in the many scenes. This is because, most the scenes are found to be unrealistic; but in the autobiography, they are found to be real. The author uses photographs and literary texts to come up with the story and spreads it in many directions.
The text brings out the image of a girl who grows up to be a lesbian. All this is brought out by use of images, literary texts, and interpretive acts. Alison uses memory in a calculated manner to bring out her true image. The author forms a narrative that is graphic in relation to her sexuality and opposes her father’s behavior. Bechdel explores scenes that are primary by drawing scenes that are separate from her young adulthood, childhood, and stage of adolescence.
Bechdel complicates matters in the story by locating her father and herself out of the family. The other part of her family (brothers and mother) plays a minor role in the text; this makes the text more fascinating. She firmly predicates her narrative that is first person to concerns of sexual and gender scrutiny. Alison breaks away from her homosexual family and stands out against them. This is seen as a rare move. She does not relinquish her family stridently; instead, she performs actions that separate her from them.
The text relates to issues affecting children and their parents at home. It talks of how parents can influence the change of behavior in children. The author uses her personal experience to explain unfolding events that caused her to be the way she is today. There is a combination of texts and images to bring out meaning to the readers. The author also uses literary texts to gain more attention from the readers; this makes the text appealing and educative to the readers.