Tuesday, March 31, 2015
The Irony of the Fun
As I was writing discussion questions, one thing really stuck with me, and that was the symbolism of the Bechdel's home and the funeral home. I know we've touched on both things during discussion, but I can't help but to see the homes as irony. Bruce keeps both so kept and well attended to, yet, there is nothing "homey" about either place. One holds the literal dead, accompanied by mourning, and the other holds a family that can barely hold itself together. When I think of "home," I think of love, connectedness, support, unity, and the Bechdel's home has very little of these things. After giving my little input, I was curious as to what everyone else thought about the two homes and what they symbolize, if anything.
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Paige, I agree with you that neither home is happy. There is too much secrecy and confusion among the family for them to connect. I found it interesting that Alison states that everyone at her house is secluded in their own world of some art form, and the same seems to be happening at the funeral home. Her father takes care of the bodies, and the children are always shown doing separate duties. The only time we see a connection between the children is when they are staying with their grandmother and listening to her stories about their father, and this is short lived.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I wrote about this a little myself in a previous post. I believe that Bruce focuses so much on the appearance of his home, which is similar to himself. (he is very concerned with his appearance) Personally, I think that this huge home is a place for him to hide from society's expectations. Similar to what you said, their are a lot of material items, but the family is not connected.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you, Paige. I blogged about the title last week and how I thought it was such an ironic title for a family that seems to have so many problems all around. When a family has numerous secrets that they are keeping from one another, I feel as if it is almost impossible to truly enjoy life. They basically, for a large part of their lives, were pretending to be someone that they are not or hiding their true identities.
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