I've Read These Books Before

 In Sag Harbor , Ben's interactions with his father characterize his family dynamics and, in part, explains Elena's self-distancing from Ben's family. His father is frequently described as destructive: for instance, Ben fears the sound of the alcohol cabinet opening, implying that domestic violence is frequent.  Throughout the book, the father is shown as a figure in the post-civil rights movement generation: he lives by the teachings of DuBois and feels a strong racial pride as an African-American man. More precisely, most of the Sag adults feel this pride-- DuBois was one of the "certain names ... [with] an emanation or halo" (18). In fact, even Ben reports being blown away by DuBois' teachings of double-consciousness during his college years (18). However, his dad is special in that this pride often comes at the cost of his family and influences Ben's actions. The first example of his father's violence is when Ben is hit for not retaliating against ...

 During the chapter Goose Fair, Jason enters the Hall of Mirrors, in which he views multiple reflections of himself, each representing a different aspect of his mind. Jason says that the mirrors in the room "melted [him] into self-mutants" (248). This scene can be viewed as a crucial part of his coming-of-age in which he has an internal conversation: after this scene, Jason tears apart his bully's calculator and mocks him in front of the whole class. The internal conversation that Jason has in the Hall of Mirrors convinces Jason to merge his external and internal selves into his true self.  In the first mirror, he sees an "African tribesman with a neck giraffed by iron rings" in his reflection. The man asks, "Can a person change ... into another person" (249)? He sees this reflection as a representation of the self-criticism he has developed toward his fake identity in BSG. From the start, he is fixated on his external representation in society, planni...

 Throughout Fun Home , Bechdel makes multiple notable literary references, even stating that her "parents are most real to [her] in fictional terms" (67). Through her childhood as the daughter of two English teachers, and her literary explorations throughout her life, Bechdel has been exposed to a plethora of prominent works of literature. These analogies are used frequently in Fun Home . Some notable analogies that will be discussed include the story of Daedalus and Icarus and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The first analogy, appearing a mere two pages into the book, is about the story of Daedalus and Icarus. In the myth, Daedalus is a talented craftsman and the father of Icarus; to allow himself and his son Icarus to fly out of prison, he builds two pairs of wings. Although Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, Icarus disregards his father's warnings and his wings melt. The story concludes with Icarus' fall and subsequent death. Bruce is compare...

In “Lady Lazarus,” Plath tackles her repeated suicide attempts by taking on a bold, defiant persona ("Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air")—even as a "peanut-crunching crowd" watches her self-destruction. Plath's metaphorical depiction of herself as a Jew in Nazi Germany tells us a lot about her thoughts. One of the most striking images in the poem is when she compares her skin to a “Nazi lampshade,” a reference to the rumor about lamps made from the skin of Holocaust victims. This image of her skin being forcefully stripped away mirrors the feeling of being exposed against her will, much like an animal inside the bell jar. Yet, she asks, “Do I terrify?”. The lampshade metaphor is fitting for Plath in a way, since it has the same grotesque and test-subject image as an animal trapped inside a bell jar. Instead of being peered in from the outside, the lampshade has her skin forcefully removed, alluding to her sense of being unwantedly e...

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye features Holden Caulfield as its protagonist. From the moment of his expulsion from Pencey, Holden spirals into a downward mental decline. One of his most defining traits is his willingness to become a martyr—sacrificing himself to uphold his values and idolizing self-destruction as a means of achieving moral victory. The first instance of this is his fight with Stradlater. Despite Stradlater practically begging Holden to stop calling him a “phony” and a “moron,” Holden persists, refusing to back down even when he is physically harmed. Holden is furious that Stradlater—a shallow and insincere figure—does not appreciate Jane Gallagher the way he does. While Holden treasures small, intimate details about Jane, such as how she keeps her kings in the back row when playing checkers, Stradlater sees her as just another conquest in the prep school dating scene. This infuriates Holden, leading him to provoke Stradlater despite knowing he will be overpower...