Expressing Himself Through a Character

At the end of the novel there are two frames one with a letter that Bruce sent to Alison where she says, “I think of his letter, the one where he does and doesn’t come out to me” (Bechdel 230). Then there is frame with a passage from James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. In his letter he is talking to Alison about her keeping her options open with her sexuality and it being a cop out, he says, “Taking sides is rather heroic, and I am not a hero.” Then in the next frame it shows Stephen Dedalus saying, “You saved men from drowning. I am not a hero however” (Bechdel 230). Here Stephen denies responsibility by saying he is not a hero and in the frame above Bruce uses this characters line to deny responsibility of choosing a side in terms of his sexuality. This is his way of coming out to Alison through a character of a novel’s words. In Autobiography of Red Geryon is able to express himself through his photographs because of his disconnect with language. He feels certain ways on the inside but isn’t able to express those feelings with language so he uses photography as a way of brings those feelings out. Similarly to Geryons use of a tool to represent himself and his feelings, Bruce uses literature and their characters to represent himself and his feelings. Unlike Geryon it is not because of his disconnect with language it’s because of his disconnect of his own sexual identity. He knows how he feels about his sexuality on the inside but he can’t expresses himself, so he uses the characters in the books he has read to connect with and be able to express himself.