Parents and Identity
While reading Fun Home, I noticed that Bruce does a lot to hide his and Alison's identities as some way of putting up an act to be perceived as a "normal family" and keep a good reputation. Bruce reminds me of my mother and how she tries to steer me off from certain things she disagrees with (this book being one of them) as a way of keeping a good face for the rest of our family and the people she knows. He acts like a shield for things that he has experienced that he doesn't want Alison or others to see and tends to push her one way or the other.
Like Alison, I feel that I don't really care much about a reputation, but more about exploring things that are related to how I feel and what I like and enjoy or what is interesting. I feel like I relate to her in more ways than I would have thought. There are many things that she did in the book which I also feel that I have done or currently do, like checking out specific books in a library or reading about symptoms of a suspected thing.
I feel that parents try not to discuss identity with their kids because they don't want them to go the way they don't think is right and potentially ruin the family's image. Because Alison and I could technically be considered "not normal", parents, especially her father and my mother may steer clear from the potential consequences of "such decisions", since they may not be good and ruin their reputation.
I feel that reputation plays a big role in how parents go about raising their kids. Many parents feel that they don't want to be perceived one way or another because of something they let or didn't let their children do. However, at the end of the day, it is the child's life and support can only go so far in helping them to make their own decisions.
Wow, I think you did a great job of relating Allison's experiences to your own life. I especially like the last line about how at the end of the day it's the kid's life and parents are supposed to help their child grow. We saw how the lack of that affected Allison in the end, with going on a wild chase to learn more about her father and blaming herself for what happened.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree that while what Bruce did was understandable, it wasn't the best choice for Alison, who was a lot happier when she was in college and able to be herself more (and connect with Bruce through literature). Reputation was absolutely a big factor in how Bruce lived his life, especially with his focus on having Alison wear the 'right' clothes and his almost obsessive decoration of their house.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Post! I like how you related your personal experience to the book. Sometimes parents try to have a certain reputation for themselves and their family so they focus more on their own needs than giving their kids the chance to explore. Again, I really like how you talked about similar experiences that you made.
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