Greek Mythology: A Literary Analysis

One last and very prominent comparison between Fun Home and Middlesex was their references to Greek Mythology which I found very ironic. Jeffrey Eugenides had a very specific intention while writing Middlesex for the elements of Greek Mythology appear from the beginning until the end. Some of the first characters that we learn about in Middlesex are Cal’s grandparents that are from Greek decent which gives us a basic outline for the many Greek references throughout the book. For starters, the Minotaur appears around five separate times throughout the book, kind of like a thread. On page 134 the Minotaur is used as a symbol for deformed children that Cals grandmother, Desdemona is afraid of potentially giving birth to, ironically happening
They spoke to issues of queerness through two very heartbreaking, yet inspirational storylines that show their readers that acceptance of each others differences can make a huge impact in this world especially in terms of sexuality. In the factors of queerness both characters sexualities are clearly what would be considered as “queer”, but in the form of being out of the norm our main characters Alison and Cal both had undeniably bizarre life stories. One of the biggest concerns that these novels brought up was the questioning of normality in the world of being queer. When we can’t even define what “normal” is how can we expect other people to be apart of these expectations? Middlesex and Fun Home spoke to the issues of being queer Americans one as a homosexuals and one as a hermaphrodite, which are obviously two different types of queer, but very similar on the personal level. Living in the 21st Century we are structured by gender and the seemingly inevitable issues in accepting sexualities that aren’t simply male or female, and within these two novels of Middlesex and Fun Home, we read about two young characters finding themselves while they undergo their personal struggles being queer individuals in