In class last Tuesday, our discussion was short but the question was raised as to how Fun Home measures up to the standard of an American Autobiography in that was about it is specific to the American experience. While it does not pinpoint or focus on an event like Katrina, a period like slavery or Jim Crow, or the founding of the country and what it means to be an immigrant to America, Fun Home is still just as important in the American portraiture. Chronicling the childhood of a white girl in small town America may not seem as revolutionary or important as Richard Wright’s Black Boy, but it is the story of many an American. The book deals with growing up in the Nixon Era, the LGBT movement, depression, movement from rural settings to cities, materialism, and the complexity of our relationships with our families. The book reveals that even when not contextualized within the framework of a specific American event, each American life is a web of complexities. So often these complexities center abound the family and how influential they are in shaping our perceptions of ourselves and the world, which is undeniable to any American story.
I think that you did a good job of highlighting some of the most important themes that Bechdel touches upon in this book. I also agree that the family plays a central role in the American experience, as one’s family often provides the foundation for their life experiences. Certainly, we see the influence of family in Bechdel’s narrative. I thought that someone made an interesting point in class today about how Bechdel begins to discover herself through her reflections on her interactions with her father. Her sense of self is heavily influenced by her relationship with her father, and because of their complicated relationship, at times it seems that “Fun Home” centers more on the life of her father than it does on Bechdel. I think that Bechdel uses this book as a way to reflect on and deconstruct her complicated relationship with her father. It is almost like a form of therapy or self-reflection for her. Since her family had such a huge influence on her life, Bechdel felt that it was important to reflect back on these formative experiences and take a closer look on how they shaped her life path and her conceptions of herself. In this manner, Bechdel continues to use this book as a medium for self-discovery and introspection, and learns a lot about herself and her father in the process.
I think that Fun Home has a very unique place in the American story. Unfortunately there are not many American stories dealing with the LGBTQ in American biographies as there should be. Fun Home highlights a lot of things about the idea of the nuclear family that are important and often go unsaid. The lies, contradictions, and illusions intertwine with love, companionship, and traditional family values.