Summary Of Our Secret By Susan Griffin

Each individual has his or her own answer to a question “who am I.” From time to time, they will constantly change their answer as they are exposed to different environment and the answer will be varying since everyone has his or her unique life story. In Susan Griffin, Gloria Anzaldua, and Alison Bechdal’s essays, the authors tried to achieve the true expression of identity through the relationship with the labels created by the society and the other people most time family members. In these essays and comic strips, the authors emphasize how the relationship with those closed to them, such as their family members, can influence shaping their identity. In “Our Secret”, Griffin illustrates Himmler’s childhood who was a prominent Nazi figure

But when it seems like Himmler does not attain such qualities, his father and brothers harassed and tortured him not just physically but also mentally. It was apparent that Himmler’s relationship with his father was not like a typical loving father-son relationship, but rather a strictly structured such as businesses partnership. “He supervises every details of these operations. Following his father’s penchant for order, he makes many very explicit rules” (Griffin, 254). The strictly structured uncommon father-son relationship between Himmler and his father can also be seen in their family photograph. Griffin mentions on the common “mask” Himmler’s parent’s wore in photographs. He comments that “but his face has become harder, and his smile, though faint like his mother’s smile, has gained a new quality, harsh and stiff like the little collar he wears” (Griffin, 245). The rigide and tensed postures of the family even makes the audience to catch the awkwardness and heavy atmosphere at that time. As Griffin follows back to Himmler’s life, it is evident that it is inevitable

Though their own writings, each authors try to explain how their identity has been created due to the expression of their own identity. For example, in “Our Secret”, Griffin often refers to the thread of Himmler’s life by bringing up his childhood diary. Writing a diary is the only way for Griffin to express his true identity, but it wasn’t entirely his own expression because his father is observing him while he was writing his diary, “The man behind the desk does not raise his head to nod. He continues to write. He puts his pen down and looks up at the young man” (Griffin, 253). Bechdal also incorporates the essence of her identities in her writing. In “The Ordinary Devoted Mother”, Bechdal focused on capturing the emotional aspect of the characters through technique like using close up of a character’s face and lots of panels for just one scene. Bechdal effectively uses the panels to show her insecurity and lack of confidence in herself. She juxtaposes herself and her mother in same space, but makes them not looking at each other. This serves as an indication of that she has been practicing how to tell