Family Intimacy in Fun Home

In the "tragicomic" Fun Home we learn the true story of a young girl, Alison Bechdel, and her less than ideal upbringing. Alison's family is filled with lies and secrets that leave little room for intimacy or compassion. Throughout the graphic novel Alison gives numerous examples of the lack of intimacy within the Bechdel family, which ultimately leads to her growing up confused and filled with questions.

On the very first page of the novel we are greeted with the fact that Alison and her father's relationship is anything but ordinary. While playing "airplane," Alison describes that "it was a discomfort well worth the rare physical contact." It is interesting that she chooses to begin the novel this way, but I believe that it shows the importance that the lack of intimacy between Alison and her father had on her childhood and her future.

Next, on page 19, as Alison is getting ready to go to bed she suddenly gets the urge to kiss her father goodnight. She explains that "all I managed was to grab his hand and buss the knuckles lightly as if he were a bishop or an elegant lady." This act of comparing her father to both a religious figure and a woman is extremely ironic because of the fact that we know her father was gay. It also shows that Alison sees her father as more of a distant authority than a close family member, only adding to the lack of compassion within their relationship.

Not leading by a very good example, Alison's parents relationship is anything but compassionate. On page 68, Alison explains that her father does not even refer to her mother by name, instead saying things such as "the phone is for you." If, as a young girl, Alison does not see intimacy within her own family unit, there is no surprise that she has trouble with the same issues as she ages. She goes so far as to say she "witnessed only two gestures of affection between them." On both occasions, Alison feels extremely uncomfortable, as is apparent both in the text and the images within the panels on page 68.

Because of these issues of intimacy and compassion as a child, along with many other familial problems, as Alison ages she develops obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). One of her obsessions becomes her stuffed animals, and she treats each one as if it is a different member of her family; there is a father, a mother, and a baby. Each night Alison takes turns sleeping with each animal, so as to be fair and give everyone equal attention. This act of compassion for unliving objects shows Alison's deep desire for affection within her own family unit. Because she was not receiving the attention that any small child does, she acted out by forming her own family, which she was in charge of, and made sure to do everything right.

The Art of the Graphic Novel

Upon receiving my (extremely large) box of books from amazon.com, I was filled with the excitement that only a true book nerd can understand. I rapidly opened the box and pulled book after book out, anxiously awaiting the day when I could say I had finished them all. One of the books, though, struck me by surprise. The title was Maus, and the cover, flaunting a gigantic swastika, demanded attention. I opened the crisp new pages and was shocked at what I saw- this was no ordinary novel. I will admit that before reading this graphic novel (my first one ever) I was extremely hesitant. How on Earth was I supposed to take a glorified comic book seriously? Within one chapter, Art Spiegelman had changed my mind on the graphic novel forever.

When telling a story as historically significant as the holocaust, I believe it is easy for a writer to fall into the mundane pattern of explaining it by means of a step-by-step process. This makes the story seem redundant, and the holocaust is anything but. By using the graphic novel as a way to tell his father's story, Speigelman captures the reader's attention in a way that can not be done by any other means of story-telling. The pairing of the panels and text do more than even a movie could, because the spaces between the panels force the reader to draw their own conclusions. In doing so, it is possible to make something as impersonal as the holocaust is to a  22 year old American girl just that- extremely personal and moving.

The series of panels on the bottom of page 83 (in the full version) show Vladek, the author's father, biking on a stationary bike as he tells the story of his first son's death during the holocaust. These panels are extremely haunting once analyzed by the reader, because of what they represent. While it appears that Vladek is merely riding a stationary bike, this represents the much bigger issue of the way the Jews felt during the entirety of the holocaust- stuck in one place with no way to get out. As Vladek's story progresses, he pedals harder and harder, as if he is trying to gain momentum and get somewhere, but in the end he is still on a bike that refuses to move, and the last panel reflects that feeling of failure. Another series of panels that shows increasing emotion is on page 111. We see Tosha, a woman who was supposed to be looking after Vladek's son as well as here own, facing the fact that they would all soon be sent to Auschwitz. Upon finding out the horrible news, she immediately makes a decision to poison herself as well as the children. The series of panels that in the middle of the page shows her anger towards the German Nazi's progress as it zooms closer and closer in on her face. Her face begins to furrow in anger and sweat rolls down her forehead. These panels make the reader become personally attached to Tosha's situation in a way that a mere novel could not.

Page 127 contains perhaps my favorite panel of the entire graphic novel. It shows Vladek and Sonja walking straight into a swastika. Speigelman used this panel as a means of foreshadowing, while letting the reader know something that the characters at this point do not- they are walking right into danger. The caption "Anja and I didn't have where to go," shows the pure helplessness of Vladek, as well as all of the Jewish population at this time. While reading over this portion of the book, I couldn't help but feel like a viewer of a horror movie; I kept wanting to shout "turn around!" "go back!", but just as in the movies, it would do the characters no good.

Perhaps the most horrifying panel in Maus appears on page 232. Vladek is explaining the gas chambers and ovens, and the readers are greeted with an image of mice engulfed in flames, throwing their heads back in anguish. It looks like a scene straight out of hell. There is no caption necessary- we all know the sound they are making. This is the beauty of the graphic novel; while it may not contain as many literary clues as a typical novel would, it gives the reader the freedom to fill in the gaps, making it that much more memorable and personal.

The Tools of Literacy

Literacy, as defined in lecture, is "the ability to read and discern meaning using communicative tools." In Under the Feet of Jesus, Estrella begins the story as an illiterate child who struggles with the frustration of learning a new skill. Instead of merely explaining the process of learning to read, Viramontes uses a metaphor comparing gaining literacy to a toolbox. In doing so, she explores the frustration that comes with being "locked out" of a whole other world of literature, and the foreign nature of language before one learns to conquer it.

Upon seeing the toolbox for the first time, Estrella "became very angry" (pg. 24). She approached the box, opened it, and found numerous tools she had no idea how to use. To Estrella, the tools "seemed as confusing and foreign as the alphabet she could not decipher" (pg. 24). Much like many children who have yet to learn to read, the idea of not being included on such a major part of our world frustrated Estrella immensely. In fact, "Estrella hated when things were kept from her," (pg. 24) concerning both her literacy and her knowledge of the tools in the toolbox.

Once Estrella gains access to the inside of the toolbox, she pieces through the tools with the same frustration, and Viramontes continues her metaphor. To Estrella, "the script A's [of the alphabet] had the curlicue of a pry bar, a hammerhead split like a V" (pg. 24). "The curves and tails of the tools made no sense and the shapes were as foreign and meaningless to her as chalky lines on the blackboard" (pg. 25). This shows that she saw both entities as foreign, but she is trying to work out their significance.

A Cinderella Story

Kurt Vonnegut's use of the Cinderella story in his Slaughterhouse V reveals much of what he thinks about literature: that while a story may be great, it is easy to replicate, and eternal happiness is unrealistic.

Vonnegut introduces us to the idea of Cinderella on page 96, while the men have just arrived at the British officer's "banquet hall." We learn that that night the British will be putting on a show, their own "musical version of Cinderella" (pg 96) for the Americans. After experiencing the horrific events that he did, the first thing Billy wants to do when he arrives at the camp is "call his mother, to tell her he [is] alive and well" (pg. 97), but he can't. This is a direct reflection of Cinderella; she is placed in a less than ideal situation and the reason for it is that she no longer has access to her mother.

Next, the Englishmen see Billy and immediately start to pick over his appearance and state of being. They say remarks such as "Is that coat a joke?" and "Where did you get such a thing?" (pg. 97). In doing so, the Englishmen are replicating Cinderella's Fairy Godmother in the scene in which she appears to her in the garden, becomes very distressed at her appearance, and decides to do something in her favor. Much like the Fairy Godmother, the Englishmen don't stop at the remarks. They go on to feed, clothe, and entertain Billy, becoming his very own Fairy Godmothers.

When the play reaches the scene in which Cinderella proclaims:

"Goodness me, the clock has struck--
Alackday, and f*ck my luck" (pg. 98).

Billy "shrieked" and has to be carried into the hospital. Billy's reaction to the clock striking twelve is much like Cinderella's in that his luck runs out and he plummets back into a negative situation.

Vonnegut throws us a curveball, though, in that he doesn't finish Billy's Cinderella story the same way the original author had so many years ago. Instead, when Billy finds his version of the glass slippers, "the boots fit perfectly" (pg. 145), but do nothing to change the course of the story. I believe this is Vonnegut's way of acknowledging the fact that Cinderella is a classic, while simultaneously saying that a story doesn't have to have a happy ending for it to be entertaining.

Race and Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God

            The concept of race as a determining factor in a person’s worth plays a major role in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. At the beginning of the second chapter we are greeted with the idea that race, and the identity that comes with it, is taught to us, as opposed to being a natural convention. Janie is a six-year-old African American girl who doesn’t recognize herself in a photo in which white children surround her. Upon realization that she is the girl that stands out in the photo, she exclaims “Aw, aw! Ah’m colored!” (page 9) as if she would not have noticed unless someone pointed it out. Regarding the situation Janie states, “Before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah wuz just like de rest” (page 9).

            Janie’s caretaker, Nanny, also plays a major role in teaching her the rules of race. She tells Janie, “So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his women folks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see” (page 14). Through this, Janie is taught that the sole purpose of her existence is to clean up other people’s messes and do the jobs that they won’t, both because of her race and her gender. Nanny preaches to Janie “You know, honey, us colored folks is branches without roots and that makes things come round in queer ways” (page 16). This teaches the poor child that because of her race, there is no way she will lead a normal life.

            The idea that everyone of a particular race must be in the same class is a concept that Hurston toys with quite often in the novel. When Joe and Janie use spittoons instead of regular coke bottles, like everyone else in the town, it causes an upset in the social order. “It was bad enough for white people, but when one of your own color could be so different it put you on a wonder” (page 48). This shows that the townspeople were thrown off by Joe and Janie’s newfound display of wealth and a higher social class, because the norm was that everyone of the same color behaved the same way.

            Janie is treated differently than people of her ethnicity throughout the novel because of her wealth and appearance. Mrs. Turner, a woman that lives in the same town as Janie and Tea Cake, holds Janie to a higher standard than the rest of the “negroes.” She even goes so far as to “forgive [Janie] for wearing overalls like the other women who worked in the fields” (page 140). When speaking with her husband, Mrs. Turner says “Ah don’t see how uh lady like Mis’ Woods can stand all them common niggers round her place all de time,” as if Janie isn’t one. She goes on an entire rant about how much she can’t stand the black people in town, completely ignoring the fact that Janie is the same race as them.  

She's A Man, Man!

Ernest Hemingway uses The Sun Also Rises as a brilliant display of masculinity vs. femininity. But, the character who displays the most masculine traits is quite the curve ball. Lady Brett Ashley contains all of the necessary qualities to make up one of the most masculine, manly men this side of the 20th Century.

Brett is arguably the most sexually promiscuous character. She sleeps with more men throughout the course of this novel than many girls will do in a lifetime, and yet I love her for it. She sleeps with her fiancé's friend and then tells his other friend, who she says she's in love with, all about it! And what's worse is, she actually gets away with a it! Also, let's not forget the fact that Brett knows a thing or two about manipulation. The entire time Cohn is chasing her around Spain, she may say she's annoyed, but it takes over 200 pages before she actually does anything about it. Clearly she enjoys the attention.

But let's talk masculinity. Aside from her sexual promiscuity, Brett gives off the overall vibe that she just-doesn't-care, a masculine trait I believe all of us women have seen a time or two from the opposite sex.

Oh, Jake, have I been leading you on and using you whenever I need a quick self confidence booster throughout the course of an entire novel? Yep. 

Did I really just use Jake to hook me up with the hot, younger, Spanish bull fighter? Yep, again!

Brett may occasionally try to play the "crushed woman" role, but it is clear to any reader that she is out for Number One the entire time. Let's be serious, she won't even give Jake a chance, a man she tells she loves, because he can't have sex with her. That thought itself just oozes manhood. How many girls have been turned down because they didn't want to sleep with their date? I would bet the number greatly outweighs the opposite.

Perhaps the most seemingly feminine, but in my opinion purely masculine, thing that Brett does in the entire book occurs during the closing scene. Let me preface this by asking: Ladies, how many times have you had "a talk" with your boyfriend that has ended with him going on and on (..and on..) about how much he is going to change? Now answer me this -- has he ever done it? No! Brett is the exact same way. If anyone reading this book believes that at the end of Book III, Brett's bullfighter-breakup epiphany somehow changed her life, you are both sheltered and sorely mistaken.

Brett is who she is, and that is not your typical woman. She won't change because she doesn't want to change. Why should she? She has gone through her entire life getting what she wants, when she wants. Now what man can say he doesn't want that?