Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Drawing From Life”

In this activity, students will tell a story from their life visually, as though they are writing a graphic memoir.

Bechdel’s Fun Home is notable for the way in which it feels like we’re wading through her memory as she thinks back to her relationship with her father and her exploration of her sexuality. In this activity, you will also think of a theme prevalent in your life.

Part A

First, think of a significant relationship in your life, especially one with a family member, close friend, or guardian. Then, reflect on the following questions:

• How might you represent this relationship? Would you tell the story of a specific moment or a series of moments?
• Is there a recurring motif, like books and literature in Fun Home, that comes to mind as you think about this relationship?

Now, draw out one scene to the best of your ability. Feel free to use different colors to exert different meanings or to include narration boxes to explain what is happening.

Part B

Then, get together with a partner and let them read your scene as you read theirs. Share what stands out to you about their work, and vice versa.

Part C

Finally, as a class, consider the following questions:

• How did you approach this activity?
• How did you think about the visual elements of a graphic memoir, like symbols, color, and narration?
• What were you surprised by in your partner’s response? How can you incorporate their feedback?
• What are the advantages to telling a story this way?
• What elements stood out to you about Bechdel’s narrative choices?

Teaching Suggestion: In the final discussion, guide students to think about genre and form conventions and the reasons that authors may choose graphic novels/memoirs as a means of telling a story.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who may have motor dysgraphia, the use of an art or design software program might be a reasonable accommodation for creating an image or series of images.