Alison later talks about what they used to do at the "Fun Home." She talks about how her and her brothers always used to fool around. "My brothers and I had lots of chores at the fun home, but also many interesting opportunities for play"(37). Alison and her brothers often slept there with their grandmother. Grammy always would make sure all the bugs were killed before they went to sleep. In my opinion, it seems that Alison had a good and healthy relationship with her grandmother. It seems as if her grammy was always there when Alison needed her. Grammy also told them stories before bed. Alison's favorite is the one about how her father got stuck in the mud when he was three and how Mort saved him.
Alison talks about the time when her father called her back to the private room where the bodies where dressed and not yet put in a casket. That must be a hard sight to see being a teenage girl. She saw the person's genitals and his chest that was spilt open. The father didn't even have the decency to explain what he was doing, he just asked for the scissors near the sink. In this chapter, Alison states that she has a girlfriend yet she doesn't give us clarification if she truly is a lesbian or if this girl was just a friend. It is very clear at the end of chapter two that Alison wasn't very much effected that her father died. They clearly did not have a good relationship. "My brothers and I looked for as long as we sensed it was appropriate. If only they made smelling salts to induce grief-stircken swoons, rather than snap you out of them"(52). Do you think Alison was upset at all by the departing of her father?
I think that Alison misses her father in some respects because at the end of the chapter it's clear that she goes to visit his grave, and she wouldn't do that if she didn't care about him. She may not have liked her father very much because he wasn't really much of a father figure to her; all he did was order her around and ask her to get him materials. Alexa said, "Alison and her brothers often slept there with their grandmother." From reading about her grandmother, it seems like she played an important part in Alison's childhood. Alison maybe relied on her grandmother for care and support because her father was never there for her.
ReplyDeleteI agree with April’s perspective on the matter as well as Alexa’s. It is possible that Allison searched for some kind of parental guidance or attention and looked to her grandmother to be that outlet of attention. When April stated, “Alison maybe relied on her grandmother for care and support because her father was never there for her”, I believe that the attitude Allison has against her father proves her right. In a sense, the “fun house” opened Allison’s horizons to newer things and set her free from her father’s presence. It’s only the memories of who her father is that will continue to stalk her throughout her life.
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ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with Alexa that Alison did not have a good relationship with her father, I question Alison's relationship with her grandmother. Yes, her grandmother would check for bugs before Alison and her brothers would go to bed, but I found the story she would tell to be haunting. She told them how their father, as a little boy, had wandered off. He had walked across a freshly plowed, muddy field which he had gotten stuck in. Then, Mort the mailman saw him, yanked him out of the mud, and brought him back to her (the grandmother). Then the grandmother proceeded to tell the children that as a punishment, she wrapped him in a quilt and put him in a oven. Alison's grandmother knew that they were young children, and I personally feel that the story she told was not suitable for children such a young age, or really anyone of any age. I question her morals as a mother and a person. I also question her sanity.
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