COMICS JOURNAL 21: Fun Home (Icarus Game)
Book: Fun Home
Author: Alison Bechdel
Fun Home is a graphic memoir recording how Alison Bechdel eventually recognized her sexual orientation, her relationship with her father Bruce Bechdel, and her father's death. She starts the story with Icarian game, in which her father will lie on the floor and Alison will jump on top so that she can fly with the help of her father.
Icarus has a pair of wings made by his father Daedalus. However, the wings are made with wax that it can melt if Icarus fly too close to the sun. Daedalus had warned Icarus, however, Icarus did not listen and flying close to the sun. As a result, his wings melt and he fell into the sea and died.
In Alison's story, she was the son at the beginning because she needed her father's support for her body weight so that she can fly on the air. However, after Bruce's death, Alison thought her father was actually the son who did not understand his wings and fell into the water. He flied to a place that did not belong to him and causing the death. At the end of the story, Alison illustrated Bruce in the water opening his arm waiting for Alison. She knew that he was there to catch her. Bechdal used this allusion to express her acceptance, love, and emotion toward her father. Therefore, using metaphors in graphic memoirs gives readers a stronger feeling and more involved in the stories.
Author: Alison Bechdel
Fun Home is a graphic memoir recording how Alison Bechdel eventually recognized her sexual orientation, her relationship with her father Bruce Bechdel, and her father's death. She starts the story with Icarian game, in which her father will lie on the floor and Alison will jump on top so that she can fly with the help of her father.
 |
| Alison playing Icarian game with her father |
Icarus has a pair of wings made by his father Daedalus. However, the wings are made with wax that it can melt if Icarus fly too close to the sun. Daedalus had warned Icarus, however, Icarus did not listen and flying close to the sun. As a result, his wings melt and he fell into the sea and died.
In Alison's story, she was the son at the beginning because she needed her father's support for her body weight so that she can fly on the air. However, after Bruce's death, Alison thought her father was actually the son who did not understand his wings and fell into the water. He flied to a place that did not belong to him and causing the death. At the end of the story, Alison illustrated Bruce in the water opening his arm waiting for Alison. She knew that he was there to catch her. Bechdal used this allusion to express her acceptance, love, and emotion toward her father. Therefore, using metaphors in graphic memoirs gives readers a stronger feeling and more involved in the stories.
Comments
Post a Comment