Fun Home

Sometime during the aftermath of her father’s death Alison ponders the possibility that her father may have purposefully stepped in front of the truck that killed him. The theory that her father’s life ended in suicide rather than on accident is an interesting one to say the least.

                First, let us explore some of the clues pointing to the conclusion that her father did indeed kill herself. In the time leading up to his untimely demise Alison noticed something peculiar. Her father was highlighting passages in his books that seemed to explore death and even suicide. Furthermore, he would leave these little clues out in the open, perhaps hoping that someone would discover them and save him from himself. However, when Alison does happen upon her father’s curious highlights she chooses to discount them. In one instance she even rationalizes his behavior by claiming that, knowing the man her father was, he must have gone on to read the next section of the reading which disagrees with suicide.

                This was most likely a way of trying to alert others as to his possible plans to get a sense of their response. This is common with many cases in which people have attempted suicide and is a definite warning sign. Additionally, when you include the fact that her father was not emotionally connected with his family as with his books the reason to suspect suicide grows even further. Had Alison taken these warning signs seriously she may have been able to intervene.

                Her father’s way of trying to elicit a response rather than just come out and proclaim what they were looking for can also be seen in Alison. After her father’s death she finds herself unable to feel grief so she turns to others in order to see their grief in the hopes that seeing the emotion would make her feel better. While the two circumstances may be different in that Alison was not feeling something and wanted to see others emotions, her father wanted to see the care for life that he no longer felt and through subtle signals he attempted to do the same thing. In both cases they were unsuccessful.