There were many parts of this story that stuck out to me. Because of my own relationship with my father, I found myself relating to many emotions the author was portraying. On page 58, she says "I'd been upstaged, demoted from protagonist in my own drama to comic relief in my parents' tragedy." It takes a lot of courage to come out and let people know who you truly are, and instead of having a reaction to what she told her parents, she was just learning more about their drama and her father's past. It was like they were one-upping her. The fact that she refers to herself as 'comic relief' just seems so negative to me. If I would have been in that situation, I think it would be hard for me to go to my parents with big life events in the future, because they didn't really seem to care so much, with the exception of her mother's initial disappointment.
Another line that stood out was on page 101. Bechdel is examining the picture of Roy she found in her father's things. "In an act of prestidigitation typical of the way my father juggled his public appearance and private reality, the evidence is simultaneously hidden and revealed." I'm not exactly sure why I like this line. Part of it makes me think about looking back and seeing the signs of something seem so obvious, like in the case of her father's affairs. But I can also see this in the way people react to one another. For example, if I have a new friend who I want to become better friends with, I wouldn't immediately open up about some crazy drama I have going on in my life, because I want to appear "normal," so to speak, and not scare them away. I feel like we all make conscious efforts to present ourselves to others in certain ways, juggling our appearance and reality. I hope that my rambling makes sense!
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I really liked the second quote you chose to focus on as well. I think it has a lot to do with what we talked about in class about being very reserved and "normal" while in public but having this entirely secret persona on the side. I think to a certain extent we are all guilty of having a sort of secret persona. I do find it interesting though the way people sort of keep things about themselves hidden for the fear of what other's may think or even just out of fear of going against the "norm."
ReplyDeleteIn terms of your first selection, I think that it gives a negative feeling as well. could it be that being the comic relief in her parents relationship has really bruised her emotionally? I found myself wondering if she wrote this text as a form of coping with her parents relationship. I feel that it had to have been a burden on her because if not, then I do not think she would have spent ten years creating it in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI was torn on how to feel when I first read the passage about comic relief. I think this was because I am often times the "comic relief" in my family and group of friends, but I think in a much different way than she is talking about. She seems to feel resentment about what her "role" in the family was rather than enjoying it. This passage me me sad to think that she was made fun of.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your first quote, I was under the impression that Alison felt completely offended by the way that her father reacted to her coming out as a lesbian. However, after reading the second half of the book, I have a much clearer understanding of her and her father's complicated relationship. I think the very last line of the book sums it up quite nicely; "But in the tricky reverse narration that impels our entwined stories, he was there to catch me when I leapt" (232). Despite everything that her father did and the ways in which he made her announcement seem unimportant, in the end, her father was still there for her and supporting her.
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