Fun Home process of creation

We'll watch these in class. They are videos about how Alison Bechdel went about creating Fun Home. Consider what these help contribute to your understanding of her character, especially her OCD in chapter 5. Also consider what insight this gives you about why Bechdel created her book and what she may have gotten out of doing it. Lastly, be sure you fully take in just how much work she did to create this book.

EWRT1A-30: Reading Response 9

Reading Response 9
Keeping in mind what you have read of Fun Home so far, respond to one of the prompts below. Please use specific evidence from the book to support your response.

1. Compare and contrast how Alison Bechdel’s father uses books in his life to how Bechdel as a young college student does. How do books relate to their identities? To their sexual identities?
2. What assets does Alison Bechdel have that help support her coming out as a lesbian? What are her obstacles?
3. On page 85, Bechdel claims that her father prefers “fiction to reality.” How does this relate to the fact that Bechdel uses so many other stories– Daedalus and Icarus, Camus, The Great Gatsby, etc.– to understand her father?
4. On page 104, Bechdel mentions the Stonewall Riots. Do some research about this. Why is it significant that Bechdel and her father are in New York just weeks after the Stonewall Riots?
5. Respond to one of the prompts from Reading Response 8, but incorporate evidence from chapters 3-4.
6. Choose your own focus for analysis.

EWRT1A-30: essay 3

Here are the prompts for the final out-of-class essay, essay 3. Even though Fun Home is a book, the aspects of essay writing we've been discussing all quarter still apply. Analyze, don't just summarize. In other words, don't say what the book says, say what the book means. Be sure to check out the suggestions on page 30 of our reader.

Fun Home reading questions

Here are some questions to help guide your reading of Fun Home. Many of these you won't be able to answer until we get to the end, but keep them in mind.

1. In what ways are Bechdel and her father different? In what ways are they alike?
2. Bechdel believes that her father committed suicide. Why? What does she think the motivation for him was? Why is this significant for her?
3. What role do books play in Bechdel’s relationship with her father? What role do they play in her own self discovery?
4. Can you find an image in the text that sums up Bechdel’s relationship with her father? Is its placement in the story significant?
5. In what ways is Bechdel’s father able to support her? How does he do so?
6. Why does Bechdel allude to so many literary texts? How do they relate to her parents? To herself?
7. TV shows, magazines, newspapers– various images of media appear in the panels of Fun Home. How do these images of media relate to the characters in the book?
8. What do you think the purpose of creating Fun Home was for Bechdel? What passages demonstrate this purpose?
9. In what ways are the telling (the narration) different from what is in the showing (the monstration)? Think of McCloud’s categories. Also consider that the narration is an adult Bechdel looking back and the monstration is often a young Alison experiencing things for the first time.
10. Is Alison Bechdel a reliable narrator? What does she believe that others in the book may not believe? When does she judge and when does she resist judging? What biases might she have?

EWRT1A-30: Reading Response 8

Reading Response 8

Alison Bechdel, Fun Home chapters 1-2

Choose one. Please use specific evidence in your response.

1. On page 15, Bechdel illustrates some of the ways she and her father are different. Despite the differences, how are she and her father similar? Consider characteristics of behavior and/or appearance.
2. What elements contribute to Bechdel believing that her father’s death was a suicide? Do you agree that these elements warrant her conclusion?
3. Where does Bechdel admit to the limits of her memory and understanding? Do these admissions weaken the narrative or do they serve some purpose? Explain.
4. Choose a scene from the book and compare the narration with the monstration. What relationship do these share? In other words, what do the images show in comparison to what the words explain and how do the two work together in the scene to create meaning? Consider using McCloud.
5. Choose your own focus for analysis

Owl at Purdue

The best on-line writing tutorials I have seen are through the Owl at Purdue University. Here is the Owl page on conciseness. Next class, I am going to discuss active verbs. Here's the Owl page on that topic. When you have time, explore the site. There is a lot of good information there.

EWRT1A-30: reading presentation groups

Here are the groups:

You''ll have a chance in class on Thursday to exchange information with the other members of your group. You can also post comments here. Keep in mind that I cannot give out students' e-mail addresses or phone numbers. This is a violation of privacy.

EWRT1A-30: essay 2 comments

Here are some general comments about the drafts of essay 2 for you to consider. Remember that the final draft is due Thursday.

• I saw some really insightful peer comments. Nice job giving each other feedback.
• Keep in mind that the reader only knows what the essay is about because you state it. So look at what your thesis statement actually says, not what you think it says. What are the actual words on the page stating? 
• On the topic of thesis statements, most of them have to do with cause and effect. They explore the obstacles people face when trying to express themselves. A lot of papers do a good job stating the obstacles, the causes, but never show the effects of these obstacles. The reader can only understand that something acts as an obstacle if you show that effect. For instance, the preponderance of skinny models in ads does not prove by itself that women are restricted by unattainable standards of beauty. It’s how women react to these models, the effect, that shows the problem. In other words, an obstacle is something that prevents a person from doing something, so you need to show what that person is unable to do. 
• Show, don't just tell. "Women feel trapped by the beauty myth." So you say, what is your proof that this is true? By itself, this is just a point, a belief. In academia, all beliefs need to be demonstrable. That means they need to be capable of being proven. Without proof, all you have is a list of your assumptions. And that's not an essay; that's a rant.
• Synthesis is basically an analysis of two texts (or more) that demonstrates a connection between those texts. So make it clear what the two texts have in common with one another; state it explicitly. I think for a lot of you, one thing that would help would be to have clearer points in your body paragraphs. Many papers have two texts in a single paragraph, but I can’t see how the two texts relate. State a clear point of comparison and then explain that point in both texts. Consider using transitions that link the texts.
• Don’t forget MLA citation and a works cited list.

EWRT1A-30: midterm

For the midterm you need paper and pens, as well as your reader and a print dictionary (if you want). You may also bring a printout of the Anyon essay (I'll try to remember to bring one, as well). You do not need an exam booklet or a scantron sheet. Also, besides your reader and a dictionary, you cannot use any other books, notes, or devices.

Consider connections between our texts to prepare yourself. Look over your notes and reading responses. And get a good night's sleep before the test. And eat your vegetables.

EWRT1A-30: essay 2 ideas chart

This is a bit small and difficult to read, but it is just intended as a starting place to help you generate ideas for essay 2. Comment here or e-mail me with any questions.