The modernization of ideas and culture in America have brought forth a lot of change since the years after the revolution. One of the major ideologies that have major effect on United States and Mexican culture and policy, is Marijuana. In Homegrown, Isaac Campos studies several federal publications, such as laws, written policies, etc. and some records of arrests involving the use of Marijuana. Campos portrays Latin American society in this story to help represent the outlook on Marijuana and the effects its presence had, compared to the softer opinion towards the drug today.
"I will always be grateful to my parents for their love and sacrifice"(Rodriguez). Narciso Rodriguez, the author, is about to move into a different house and reflects on what makes his plain old house a special home in his memoir, "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives." Rodriguez reminds himself of all the different kinds of events that happened in his home. Because of the affectionate memories and connections that Rodriguez makes to the past and the gratitude towards his parents, he builds a complex nostalgic and sentimental mood that highly appeals to the readers.
The book “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi follows two half-sisters named Effia and Esi, who were born in different villages in Africa, and follow the descendants of their family tree for about three centuries. Many of the problems in this story involve both sides of the African people in the Atlantic slave trade and the aftermath of its demise. Even as soon as the first couple of chapters, starting with the chapter “Effia” where Effia marries a British governor named James and lives in the Cape Coast Castle with the dungeons below holding slaves. As well as in the next chapter called “Esi”, where Esi is captured after they attacked her village and sent to live in the dungeon until they sent her to America as a slave. “The Atlantic slave trade was
Her partner is the complete polar opposite of her dad. He is thoughtful, organized, and always sober. These qualities, which enable Jeanette to live more easily than she could with her elder family before, is greatly appreciated by Jeanette. Here, she demonstrates that she was able to live independently of her family and adjust to a new environment. She occasionally checks in with her other family members, but she is content with her new existence.
The memoir can be relatable to young adults, as young adults face many challenges growing up. Young adults face a plethora of issues and to know that they’re not alone , and somebody else faced the same problems or even worse problems ,may help the youth find this memoir relatable. The entire memoir is about Jeannette struggling of her irrational family. Jeanette family never stayed in one place and when they did the conditions were poor. Jeannette mentioned “Instead of beds, we kids each slept on a cardboard box, like the ones refrigerator get delivered in”.
Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” is an enthralling memoir about a young girl’s peculiar childhood, which involved her family’s funeral business, infatuating trips, family turmoil, solitude, and her befuddling relationship with her masterful artificer of a father; in which similarities ranged from obsessive compulsive disorders and literature to sexuality. The most profound being homosexuality. Bechdel utilized duo-specific, speech bubbles, as well as, subject-to-subject paneling to illustrate the complex father-daughter relationship where Alison and Bruce Bechdel perpetually attempted to compensate for each other’s eccentric gender behaviors. Initially, both Bechdals yearned for different genders, imposing expected behaviors upon the other.
Home is where the heart is, but what if home is no longer safe? Joyce Carol Oates explores this concept in her 1966 short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. On surface level, this story appears to discuss a rebellious young girl named Connie and her confrontation with Arnold Friend, a stalker. The ending leaves the reader to assume that Arnold Friend plans to sexually assault the young girl.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating disorder that affects all aspects of a person’s life. This project is inspired by Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, which depicts moments of the development of her OCD in her childhood to cope with her parent’s stressful marriage. Bechdel uses imagery to represent her obsessions and compulsions, which she diagnoses as OCD later on in life. Her behaviors included repetition of actions such as counting, fixing her shoes until they lined up, and writing “I think” after every sentence in her diary. At times, her ritualistic behaviors, which took large amounts of energy and effort, dictated whether she could move on to other tasks or pay attention to the world around her.
Request to a year and Woman to child composed by Judith Wright, explores the intimate relationships that evolve around family, personal development, and childhood. Bruce Dawe’s Homecoming and Gwen Harwood’s Barn Owl both encapsulates the consequences and emotions that encompass the loss of innocence. Wright, Dawe and Harwood have used particular and concise textual features to express to the reader their individual ideas and relationships with their subjects and its symbolic links with their own life and personal experiences. Request to a year and Woman to child both analyse the intimate relationships that develop and progress around childhood, family and personal growth. Similar to Request to a year, Wright adapts a similar “story-telling”
In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.
Chad Blenz Deniz Perin ENG 121 08 December 2014 Published in 2006, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a graphic memoir that brought great success to Alison Bechdel and her work. Fun Home explores the relationship between Alison and her homosexual father, Bruce Bechdel, to shed light on ideas such as gender, coming out with your sexuality, and the complex dynamics within their family. With further analysis we can see that these key ideas are facilitated through discussions of death, life, and literature–provoked by Alison’s efforts to illustrate a truthful portrait of her complicated connection with her father, specifically after he commits suicide. Alison Bechdel is not only the main author and narrator but also the main protagonist through out the graphic memoir.
In the 1970’s women were expected to stay at home and take care of the household. They were usually not expected to further their education, but instead take care of the children or tend to their husbands’ needs. In 1972 Judy Brady decided to let the readers of Ms. Magazine know how she felt about her “duties”. In her short essay, “Why I Want a Wife,” Brady uses pathos to connect and appeal to the reader’s emotions while explaining why she wants a wife.
The market is saturated with memoirs written in prose. Alison Bechdel, however, puts a spin on the dysfunctional family memoir in her graphic novel Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. By using the graphic novel narrative form, Bechdel tells the tale of her family tragedy through words and graphic images. Fun Home tells the story of young Alison’s life of dysfunction with a father who is a closeted gay man, a family that lives in isolation and her own struggle with anxiety and OCD. The chapter “The Canary-Colored Caravan of Death” focuses on her father’s death by suicide, and her own isolation and mental struggles.
“The end is nothing, the road is all.” Once said Willa Cather. What seems like a simple quote, may have much meaning. People are always contemplate on what the end will look like, where your life may be at, what situation you may end up in, etc. May be your thoughts shouldn’t be on what the end looks like, but focusing more on how you got there, and how well you have lived your life.
The way that such intricate, specific, and divergent books and life events relate is quite showing that the choices we make do affect others and ourselves, our passions define us in positive and negative ways, and being alone in an indifferent world makes us more aware in the end. Hardship and toil prove themselves to be worth it because for Marjane, Meursault, and myself, the results of our hard work with teach us more strength and independence than before. Existentialism exists more than we can see, and its philosophy promotes learning from
