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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What author does Bechdel recall reading regarding her obsessive-compulsive disorder when she was a child?

2. By the end of what month does the author say her "earnest diary entries had given way to the implicit lie of the blank page" in Chapter 6?

3. What interstate does the author describe having been blasted through the ridge beyond hers in Chapter 5?

4. When did President Nixon resign as a result of the Watergate scandal?

5. The author writes in Chapter 6, "It's said that homes with pubescent children in them are more prone to" what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe her first foray into poetry in Chapter 5?

2. How does Bechdel describe the political atmosphere when she was 13 in Chapter 6?

3. What is the significance of the locusts that the author describes in Chapter 6?

4. How did the author overcome her obsessive-compulsive tendencies?

5. When did Alison Bechdel's obsessive-compulsive tendencies begin to appear? What did they entail?

6. Describe the dream in the beginning of Chapter 5. What symbolism can be seen in the dream?

7. How does the author describe the changes in her diary in Chapter 6?

8. What symbolism can be seen in the fallen trees in Chapter 6?

9. What play does the author describe her mother in rehearsals for in Chapter 6? Why is this significant?

10. What is described in the police report that the author illustrates in Chapter 6?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the style of the illustrations in Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. What colors predominate the images? Why do you think these colors were chosen? How do the pictures in the book help the reader relate to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's allusions to Henry James and his works in Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Whom does the author associate with Henry James novels? Why? What correlations does she make?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of homosexuality in Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. How does the author develop this theme through setting, characterization, action, symbolism, and imagery? How does the author describe coming to terms with her homosexuality? How does she relate to her father's homosexuality?

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