By telling her story of self-discovery and -creation through reading, Alison Bechdel encourages us, her readers, to think critically about our own reading practices. Chief among the practices she highlights are (1) how we read of maps; (2) how we read collages; (3) how we read allusions (i.e., to other texts); and (4) how we read documentary evidence (e.g., photos, handwritten notes, official documents, etc.). For Bechdel, these reading practices -- each in its own particular way -- is a way for the reader to discover and to create his or her self.
By the start of class on Tuesday, please finish reading Fun Home; pick out ONE place where we, the readers, are asked to practice one of these reading strategies (or some combination of them); and then write two paragraphs in which you analyze the following:
- How that map, collage, allusion, or document contributes to our understanding of Alison or her father's self-discovery or self-creation.
- What questions it raises about the discovery/creation of the selves more broadly -- for example, our own selves.
As always, please post your response to Google Drive.
