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Fun Home

The document analyzes a graphic novel about the author's father's death and whether it was accidental or a suicide. It discusses various quotes and events from the novel that suggest the author believes it was a suicide, but leaves the conclusion ambiguous. The analysis explores the author's changing perspective and how she leads the reader through an uncertain labyrinth.

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426 views

Fun Home

The document analyzes a graphic novel about the author's father's death and whether it was accidental or a suicide. It discusses various quotes and events from the novel that suggest the author believes it was a suicide, but leaves the conclusion ambiguous. The analysis explores the author's changing perspective and how she leads the reader through an uncertain labyrinth.

Uploaded by

jaytraub
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENGL 102

December 4, 2013
Autocide
Initially reading through this graphic novel my first interpretations were that the fathers
death was accidental. Though upon further dissecting and trying to see where Alison Bechdel
was taking the reader through this indecisive and confusing labyrinth I have come to the
conclusion that she believes it was in fact a suicide. I will attempt to illustrate this by using her
own book with her quotes and thoughts.
At the beginning of chapter two it states, Theres no proof, actually, that my father killed
himself. No one knew it wasnt an accident (Bechdel 27). This starts this labyrinth of sorts,
where you start to conclude one thought only to hit a dead end and have to search for another
way. She does this type of did he or didnt he again at the beginning of chapter 4 I have
suggested that my father killed himself, but its just as accurate to say that he died gardening,
and then goes on to say, The truck driver described my father as jumping backward into the
road as if he saw a snake and who knows perhaps he did (Bechdel 89). As the chapter
progresses she mentions going to the cabin in the woods and while there seeing a snake large in
size. She proposes the question, What if my father had seen a snake the size of that one
(Bechdel 116). It seems these examples she is non-committal on whether he did in fact commit
suicide or if it were accidental. In the end it did not matter to her Intentional, accidental. It was
une mort imbecile any way you looked at it (Bechdel 54). Une mort imbecile is French
meaning a stupid death.
Naively I, the reader, wanted to believe that this was in fact accidental, though Alison
Bechdel believes otherwise. She leads into this slowly at the beginning of chapter three by
saying, My fathers death was a queer businessit was strange, certainly, in its deviation from
the normal course of things. It was suspicious perhaps even counterfeit (Bechdel 57). By
saying this she believes her fathers death was fake or not genuine by using this term counterfeit.
Spoken as college Alison Bechdel in chapter two, For years my fathers death, when the subject
of parents came up in conversation I would relate the information in a flat, matter-of-fact
tone.my dads dead. He jumped in front of a truck (Bechdel 45). This shows that when
talking with acquaintances she did not discuss the possibilities of an accident.
She even makes an assumption to the readers that, If I had not felt compelled to share
my little sexual discovery, perhaps the semi would have passed without incident four months
earlier (Bechdel 59). She believes, whether it is a small part of her or not, that sharing her
sexual orientation played an outcome of his death. We as the readers found out more how she
feels when in chapter 5 she writes, Theres no mystery! He killed himself because he was a
manic-depressive, closeted fag and he couldnt face living in this small-minded small town one
more second (Bechdel 125). Through this she lets us into her thoughts and how she really felt
and what she really believed. Lastly to finish off the book she closes with referring back to
icarian games and how He did hurtle into the sea, of course (Bechdel 232). With this quote
it shows a picture of the front of a semi, this is her showing what she believes really happen.
She states throughout the book how it seems like his life is modeled like the fictional
characters in the books he reads. Relating an aspect of his life to Gatsby, from his library to the
fall he took from fairy tale to tragedy (Bechdel 85). She even found coincidences in the time
of death from the author who wrote The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald to her father thinking
it might have been on purpose.
As stated before my initial feelings towards the demise of her father has changed I do
believe that she has thought it was suicide from the time she heard about his death throughout
her life. Though even with all the references I have made it is still very ambiguous as to whether
it was in fact suicide or accidental. I believe this was her goal throughout this graphic novel, to
leads us through this labyrinth of hers with no way out and to only get a glimpse of hope of
reaching the end, a conclusion.
















Work Cited
Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.

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