73 pages • 2-hour read
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
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Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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Essay Topics
Describe the role of snakes as a motif in Fun Home. What makes them significant to the plot? What makes them symbolically significant?
Why did Bechdel include the anecdotes about her childhood struggle with OCD? How do these memories support and relate to the greater themes of Fun Home?
What does Fun Home have to say about what makes a “good” parent? Are Alison’s parents cast in a predominantly negative or positive light?
What is the importance of the dictionary as a motif? Why does Bechdel repeatedly present the reader with dictionary definitions?
Describe the role of photographs as a motif in Fun Home. What makes them significant to the plot? What makes them symbolically significant?
On page 58, Helen tells Alison that Bruce was “molested by a farmhand when he was young.” Later, on page 220, Bruce describes this sexual experience as consensual and “nice.” What was the purpose of including these details?
How and why does Bechdel use visual, rhetorical, and/or narrative repetition in Fun Home?
Analyze the significance of death as a theme, motif, and plot point in Fun Home.
What role does memory play in Fun Home?
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