Fun Home

Fun Home is an interesting book, and it is very different from the books that we had been reading thus far into the semester. Before even opening it I noticed it was a graphic novel, which instantly gave me a larger connection to it considering that I am a fan of graphic novels. I feel that having the pictures there with the story helps the reader to see what the author is trying to portray. Sometimes it is difficult to feel the author through words but with the help of her illustrations I have found that any novel is easier to dissect.

One thing I noticed about the beginning of the novel was that Alison used many historical references to help describe and portray her father. I thought that it was very important that she used metaphors such as Deadalus and Icarus and Sparta vs Athens. Using Deadalus to help describe Rus is beneficial because there are different ways of interpreting how Deadalus dealt with the death of his son, Icarus. Some say that he was terribly bitter for the loss of his son as he flew too close to the sky and the wax that held his wings together melted allowing him to plunge into the sea. Others say that as he watched his son die, he did not feel any remorse but instead only saw the tragedy as a failure on his part to create a functional set of wings for his son. In a way this describes Rus in how he does not seem to care for his children at all, like when Alison was trying to play with him in the opening of the book and then again when she tried to say good night. His lack of care, or his way of caring rubs off on his kids the wrong way and in turn has created a life for his kids in which they missed out on a real family and relationship with their father.