Latonya Milliewn

Professor Dana Horton

ENGL-218-DLA

03/20/23

Midterm Essay

In almost all types of literature color is used especially in books like “Fun Home” by

Alison Bechdel and “Dear white America” by Danez Smith. The use of color in both books

helped bring a meaningful message within the literature to “life” and to really embody the

literature. When reading “Dear white America” the colors that paint across my mind are red,

black and white. “i want the fate of Lazarus for Renisha, want Chucky, Bo, Meech, Trayvon,

Sean & Jonylah risen three days after their entombing, their ghost re-gifted flesh & blood, their

flesh & blood re-gifted their children” (Smith, 2017) brings about the color red because I’m

visualizing how unjust and bloody each victim’s death was. “i reach for black folks & touch only

air. your master magic trick, America. now he’s breathing, now he don’t. abra-cadaver. white

bread voodoo. sorcery you claim not to practice, hand my cousin a pistol to do your work”

(Smith, 2017), shows me picture of black people not being truly felt and ignored. “i tried, white

people. i tried to love you, but you spent my brother’s funeral making plans for brunch, talking

too loud next to his bones” (Smith, 2017), varnishes an image of the history of the white

generation has disrespected all types of indigenous people, even in death.

When reading “Fun Home” the colors that come to mind is blue, purple, and black. I

picked the color blue because that’s a color of secrecy which was very prominent throughout the

literature literally and metaphorically, “I’d been waiting for some time alone with dad. I made a
valiant effort to broach the topic… I dropped the subject. partly because of his derision, but

mostly because of the fear in his eyes.” (Bechdel, 2006). I choose purple because purple is the

color of luxury and charm, which Alison’s dad shows throughout the literature. His home and

garden was his only way of enjoying the luxury of being gay, “What kind of man but a sissy

could possibly love flowers this ardently? our home was an efflorescence of bulbs, buds, and

blooms, flowers wild and cultivated, native and imported, flowering vines and trees” (Bechdel,

2006).

Lastly, I chose black because although there was color throughout the book, there was

this peaking darkness slowly growing throughout each chapter. That darkness stems straight

from Alison’s dad, and I feel it went away as soon as he passed on because now there was

nothing to be “ashamed” of anymore. Unfortunately, it is actuality. The LGBTQIA+ community

doesn’t fit into society's ideology of what a natural human experience should be, and those who

do fit in that construct create an uproar and reject those who aren't like them. The differences are

noticeable at first glance. Bechdel and Smith employ about three colors, but each tone is

represented in a different way. These are used by Bechdel in her memoir. Smith draws attention

to a minority population by using color. Actuality, though, is the key resemblance in the end. The

fact that Bechdel belongs to a minority group, falls under a complex umbrella since she is

lesbian, and shared a home with a gay father who was unable to express his sexual orientation. In

Smith's poem the fact that individuals of color are not treated as humans and that their identities

are shoved back in their faces without their consent or are forced to shut down is literally insane.

Black is very prominent through out both pieces of literature because the idea of this color

reveals a lot about the central ideas, as one is purely about individuals of color, while the other
illustrates how depressing average reality can be when you allow yourself to seek comfort in

your darkness.

The topic of color is broad, and in LGBT writing and culture, using color to express a

statement is quite beneficial. It strengthens the argument and core of what the authors will say.

Naturally, literary works give color meaning because as I stated early on the color blue

represents secrecy, which was shown quite a lot throughout fun home.
 Works Cited

Bechdel, Alison. “Fun Home.” Houghton Mifflin Company. 2006.

Smith, Danez. “dear white america.” Don’t Call Us Dead. Graywolf Press, Poetry Foundation.

2017.