Look Both Ways Before You Cross!
Look Both Ways Before You Cross!
Was Bruce Bechdel’s death a suicide or just a careless mistake? Throughout the entirety of Fun Home, that one question sits in the background. Early in the story, readers learn that the cause of Bruce’s demise was by means of a truck. Though, instead of presenting one definite answer, Alison repeatedly returns to that one singular moment and examines it from different angles. As for one of the possibilities, the accident could have simply been a mere mistake where Bruce forgot to look both ways before crossing the street. We were told that it was common for Bruce to walk along the road, and it is quite plausible that he misjudged the distance of the truck or stepped into the road without realizing how quickly it was approaching. However, the way Alison reflects on the event makes the moment feel more complicated, which keeps the possibility of suicide prevalent in the reader’s mind.
As the story continues to unfold, the question of suicide becomes even more connected and logical considering the kind of life Bruce lived. Much of the graphic novel explores the secrets he kept, including his relationships with underage boys and the pressure of hiding that part of his identity for most of his life (though he did get caught and was in a court case). When putting yourself in Bruce’s shoes, though, living in a small town while trying to maintain a certain image must have created a lot of internal conflict. So from that perspective, it is understandable why Alison sometimes wonders if the emotional weight of those secrets could have played a role for Bruce committing suicide.
Out of everything, though, what makes Fun Home powerful is how it does not try to force a single answer. Instead, Alison shows how difficult it can be to understand the past, especially when it involves family and memory. Even though the memoir explores both possibilities, it never fully proves one explanation over the other. In the end, the uncertainty becomes one of the core meanings of the story. By taking a deep dive into her father’s life, Alison explicates that humans are far more complicated than the simple explanations we try to give them, and the search for understanding them matters much more than the final answer.
Hi Saif! Your analysis on Fun Home really captures how Bechdel resists from giving the readers closure about the catalytic start to the novel, Bruce's death. You talk a lot about how the ambiguity is used to strengthen the central story rather than it being a weakness within the plot, with Bechdel going through the ways to look at the event rather than telling the readers one for certain. I like how you balance both interpretations of his death, especially by tying in his 'double'/secret life as a possible motivating factor in committing suicide. You also make a strong point about how this idea is complicated by his ongoing projects within the home, like restoring their classic home and his love for reading, which he had only fairly recently begun sharing with his daughter (that is, his taste of novels). Overall, I think your take catches the woven-in nuances by Bechdel that stick with the reader throughout the whole novel. Awesome job, Saif!
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