Fun Home
Consider how Alison uses either literary references (books, authors) to connect with her readers, or the
ways in which she utilizes acts of literacy to help express how she came to understand who she is. Think
of the fact that she is writing for an audience; how do these things allow her to communicate with her
readers, and for what purposes?”
Fun Home
FUN HOME 2
Communication takes various forms and having the knowledge and skills to use these
forms enhances how an individual communicates. Authors employ different literary skills to
communicate their messages to different kinds of audiences. This discussion focuses on how
Alison uses literary references to connect with her readers and understand who she is.
An author writes with the intention of passing a certain message or information to
specific audience. This information is therefore the motivation to write and share ones opinions,
experiences and ideas. In this story, Alison employs different literary styles to convey her
messages to the audience/readers. One of the widely used styles is reference to authors, books,
movies and poems. Alison uses a number of authors, books and poems to reinforce her
messages. The books she refers to relates to the experiences she faces. Some of the books as well
contributed to her quest to become a lesbian. It is the change in mind after reading these books
that compelled or triggered her to aspire to learn more about lesbianism. The interest increased at
tremendous rate and without knowing, she found herself already practicing lesbianism.
She as well uses various authors of the books such as Fitzgerald to provide an insight to
the life of her father. The author had written a lot on her personal life and Alison father used to
love reading his book. Alison as well uses other books such as ‘Washington Square’ written by
James to provide insights on the early life of her mother. The mother while in college she was
the lead actress in the play ‘Heiress’. Therefore, through these authors and books, Alison
manages to give the reader a clear picture of her parents’ life, how they ended up meeting and
getting marriage. This life history is connected to her own life growing up and finally becoming
a lesbian.
Alison furthermore, is able to connect wither readers through her use of first personal
narration together with direct quotes. Audiences can move with the author through the narration
FUN HOME 3
and the direct quotes that she employs. She manages to stimulate the emotions of the readers
through the narrations something that makes the story interesting to follow as one reads.
Furthermore, Alison uses these acts of literacy in different ways to express how she came to
understand who she was. The upbringing of Alison whereby she spent more time reading books
contributed to her becoming a lesbian. The first instance she learned about the word lesbian is
unraveled as through reading a dictionary. Reading the meaning of the word in dictionary made
her to develop more interest in the same word leading her to continue doing research and reading
any materials that could give her more information about the word. This behavior dragged her
into a lesbian and she could not turn back.
Therefore, Alison behavior was solely contributed to the various books and encounter
with various authors that delved on lesbianism and issues to do with love. It is therefore,
apparent that indeed, the author –Alison has employed precisely literacy devices more so authors
and books to enhance understanding of Alison behaviors. The story is captivating and interesting
to follow as it explores or provides an opportunity to understand the various dynamics of life
Alisha faced to what she is now.
Reference
FUN HOME 4
Yan, F. (n.d).
