"Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel

"My homosexuality remained at that point purely theoretical, an untested hypothesis. But it was a hypothesise so thorough and so convincing I saw no reason not to share it immediately."

Themes: Performance; Appearance vs. Reality; Shame; Masculinity/Femininity; Truth; Grief

Discussion Questions:

1. On page 16, Bechdel writes that her father "used his skillful artifice not to make things, but to make things appear to be what they were not." In what ways do we see this throughout the graphic novel?

2. What did the use of shadows communicate to you in Bechdel's drawings?

3. What role did the Fun Home play in Bechdel's life (specifically in her childhood)? How do you think spending time and working in a funeral home affected Bechdel and her siblings, and notably, their relationship with their father?

4. Why do you think Bechdel chose to draw certain text excerpts, either from books or letters? How did you feel about these text excerpts?

5. Bechdel's approach to telling her father's story is rather intellectual, involving numerous literary allusions from Proust to F. Scott Fitzgerald. What did you think about this intellectualization? What does it tell you about Bechdel's relationship with her father?

6. How does Bechdel communicate tension in her drawings? If your copy of the book is in black and white, where in the story do you notice stark contrast?

7. Bechdel circles back to certain moments and memories throughout the graphic novel. Why does she revist certain events? What does the repetition of certain memories signify or communicate to the reader?

8. Do you think this story was well-suited for the graphic novel format? Why or why not?

9. Bechdel draws a map of her father's life—he was born, lived and died in a small radius. What does that tell us about him?

10. When Bechdel returns home for her father's funeral, she meets her brother outside and they grin at each other. How did you feel about this moment?