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!
ReplyDeleteHey Saif! I think you did a good job laying out both sides of the argument without trying to force one answer over the other. The point you made about how the uncertainty itself is kind of the whole point of the memoir was really interesting to me because I think a lot of people want to read it and walk away with a clear answer but Bechdel really does not give us that. It makes you sit with the not knowing which I think is what she wanted. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteHello Saif! I think it's really interesting how you you take the uncertainty in Bruce's depth to a different level. I never really thought about how the uncertainty is the reason Alison keeps bringing it up. I was honestly frustrated by the lack of an answer to how Bruce died, but it really portrays the uncertainty Alison feels herself. I really resonated with your connection to the complex answers that exist for every question involving humans.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can be somewhat maddening to recall that ALL of our very limited information about Bruce's death comes from Alison and what/how she chooses to share this information. But she does give us plenty of evidence to agree with the official record, that Bruce's death is a horrible accident: as you note, he is deeply engaged in a new restoration project, and we know how obsessively focused he gets when he's working on such a project (see chapter 1). Especially given all the new information Bruce would inevitably be pondering as he works (Alison's coming out, the divorce), it makes sense to view him as distracted, in his own head, neglecting to look both ways. The truck driver describes him jumping backward in alarm (a snake? who knows?), which doesn't quite fit the idea of intentionality as I'd picture it--Bruce would be really plotting to make it LOOK like an accident, which again, who knows?
ReplyDeleteAlison makes clear throughout that her "certainty" about her father's death is not based on fact or evidence but on her interpretation of events, and her desire to have this connection with her father, which an absurd/meaningless/accidental death would have prevented her from achieving. I understand the impulse to project meaning onto incoherent experience in this way--it is "better" for her to imagine that his death had something to do with her, given the alternative.
Hi Saif, I think you had a fantastic blog post about Fun Home. Although this mystery will never be solved, I think that the book's entire point was honestly to explain and give context to why this accident could've been a suicide. Therefore, I think that thinking about this accident as a suicide is honestly the right way to look at this book. Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteYES KING! I think you did a very good job on your post about Fun Home. Although the mystery behind Bruce's death and possible motivation remain unknown, I believe that it was Bechdel's intention to try give her perspective behind what could have led to Bruce's death and it wasn't just some random accident, therefore letting the reader know the right way in which his death should be interpreted as. Good job thun!
ReplyDeleteHi Saif! I think you make a really interesting point about Bruce's death representing a message of uncertainty. When I was first reading the book, I thought that his death might become a main plot point, and that most of the book would be attempting to uncover the truth behind what happened. Rather, while certain moments touched on his death, the majority of the book dealt with Bruce while he was still alive, making his death less of a main plot point and more like background information. I think this fact leads into your point about Fun Home not forcing a single answer. The focus is not on the death itself, but on Bruce and his relationships, allowing the reader to form their own interpretations based on the information given.
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