Cool Blogs by Kelby

     In the novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, we see the protagonist Esther undergo serious mental health issues and face depression in an era that is not very accepting or even aware of struggles like these. Over and over again we see characters ranging from therapists to romantic partners who push down or simply don't understand these struggles and how they influence Esther's mental state. Unsurprisingly, considering the fact that she raised her, Esther's mother has the strongest influence on Esther's personality. Being born and raised in an era with even less awareness regarding mental health, her parenting style is unprepared to help Esther's as she battles with depression during a major coming-of-age moment in her life. While her mother's actions in the book with regard to her condition may seem hollow and detached, it's not for a lack of trying. Her mother doesn't seem to be unempathetic for the purposes of hurting Esther in any way (although it...

     Although the graphic novel Fun Home is narrated and authored by Alison Bechdel, its focus is clearly centered around the father of the novelist, Bruce Bechdel. He is the centerpiece of the story and it seems Alison makes this book as an attempt to understand the meaning behind her father's actions by revisiting and illustrating them. His shady morality is already made evident when he is revealed to be a pedophile but the bizarreness and mysteriousness of Bruce's values and character in his at-home life is also evident. It's not surprising then that his daughter, Alison, would want to examine these mysteries and explore her father's identity. Although Alison is very interested in examining her own upbringing (specifically as a result of Bruce's parenting), Alison's mother, as we talked about in class, is very skeptical about Alison's public portrayal of their family's complicated history. Therefore, I thought it might be worth it to try and figure ou...