Literature and art are an important part of the human experience because they can connect to our personal experiences or contrast with them–or both. Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is no exception. Sometimes you may see Bechdel and her life as completely different from your own; sometimes you may see parts of your own life in her story and drawings.
In this essay, you will explore this intersection between Bechdel’s book and your own experiences by connecting specific moments from Fun Home to experiences from your own life, using photos and/or drawings of your own to present your experiences; the pages/panels from Fun Home may mirror your experiences, or they may contrast with them. This essay asks you to engage with Bechdel’s work in a unique and personal way to show how your experiences are similar to and/or different from Bechdel’s.
For this assignment, you’ll need to write at least 1000 words (with a maximum of 1500 words). Choose three to five moments from Fun Home that connect to and/or contrast with your experiences. Describe and discuss the pages or panels that capture these moments and explain how they either mirror your experiences or contrast them. Along with your analysis of the pages/panels, you’ll need to include and explain a similar number of relevant photographs and/or drawings* of yourself and your experiences, one for each experience you discuss, showcasing either a connection or contrast between Bechdel’s experience and your own. Your analysis should weave together the visual and textual elements of Fun Home with your personal photographs and experiences to explore these similarities and/or differences. Given the emphasis on Bechdel’s book and your personal experiences in this essay, there is no need for outside research for this essay. Quotations and discussions of pages/panels in Fun Home as well as any AI use will be cited using MLA format.
_____ Your essay must be at least 1000 words in length (maximum of 1500 words).
_____ Your essay must have an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
_____ Write a creative, informative title for your essay.
_____ Your introduction should get readers interested and provide some context on the essay topic by introducing Fun Home and your experience of reading; it should end with a clear thesis statement.
_____ Your thesis should be placed at the very end of your introduction and should suggest whether Bechdel’s experiences mirror or contrast your own. Note: This intersection doesn’t need to be an either/or proposition. You may discuss a mix of moments, some of which mirror your experience and some of which contrast your experiences.
_____ Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence and should include specific details such as descriptions and explanations of images and quotations from the panels in Fun Home as well as descriptions and explanations of your photographs or drawings and corresponding experiences.
_____ Within the body of the essay or at the end of it, include 3-5 photographs or drawings to illustrate your experiences. You may use AI to create one piece of artwork if you wish.
_____ Introduce, cite, and explain panels and quotations from Fun Home using MLA format.
_____ Use transitions at the start of each body paragraph and within paragraphs to connect ideas.
_____ Your conclusion should echo ideas from your introduction and body paragraphs, remind readers about the way Bechdel’s work intersects with your life, and explain the significance of this intersection to you and to other potential readers of the book.
_____ Edit and proofread your sentences so that they are as clear and correct as possible. NOTE: It is acceptable to use first-person (“I,” “my,” “we”) but not second-person (“you,” “your”).
_____ Include a properly formatted Works Cited page with an entry for Fun Home and any AI use.
_____ If you use AI for peer review, editing, or art generation, you will need to provide a paragraph after your Works Cited to acknowledge and explain that use; that use must also be documented through Works Cited entries.
_____ Include an outline with your final draft that states your thesis as it appears in your essay and lists the major areas of development in the body of your essay.
_____ Format your essay properly: double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font.
Your readers are familiar with Fun Home but not with your personal life. They need your guidance to understand how experiences in Bechdel’s book connect to or contrast with your experiences. Your goal in this essay is to analyze how specific panels from Fun Home relate to your own life experiences. Through a detailed analysis of these panels, along with corresponding personal photographs and/or drawings and explanations of your experiences, you will demonstrate the intersections between Bechdel’s work and your life.
1. Introduction
Start with a hook, a compelling statement or question that draws the reader into the idea that literature and art often converge with personal experiences.
Provide context. Introduce Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Alison Bechdel, the nature of the graphic novel, and your experience reading it.
End with your thesis statement. Indicate whether your experiences are similar, different, or some combination thereof to Bechdel’s.
Your introduction should be a single paragraph. Your thesis should be no more than two sentences long.
2. Textual and Visual Analysis/Connection to Personal Experience (Repeat for each moment you’ve chosen to discuss)
Select a moment from Fun Home that either mirrors or contrasts your life and experiences.
Describe and explain the relevant pages, panels, and quotations, exploring their significance within the story. ICE quotations. Provide page numbers for panels also.
Explain the moment in your life that connects to this moment in Bechdel’s life.
Include and explain a personal photograph or drawing that illustrates this moment for you, highlighting the way your experience similar to or different from Bechdel’s.
Use one or more paragraphs to discuss each moment in Bechdel’s life and your corresponding photo/drawing and experience.
3. Conclusion
Reiterate your thesis statement and summarize main ideas from your body paragraphs.
Reflect on how Fun Home mirrors and/or contrasts your own life and what these intersections mean to you.
End with a compelling closing thought or call to action, urging readers to consider how their own lives may intersect with works of literature, especially graphic novels like Fun Home (or even Fun Home itself :-).
Your conclusion should be a single paragraph.
4. Works Cited
• Use MLA format. Include Fun Home and any AI use. List sources in alphabetical order.
5. AI Use Statement
• Explain how AI was used in the construction of your essay. Be specific and transparent. If you did not make any use of AI for this essay, simply include a brief note indicating that you did not make use of any AI tools :-).
6. Outline
• Include a brief outline that states your thesis as it appears in your essay and that lists the major areas of development in your essay. The outline should be concise, not a series of paragraphs or lengthy explanations.
