What really is a memoir? Patricia Hampl once wrote, “[A] memoir must be written…made of the stuff of a life lived in places and in history.” But does it really have to be all true? A memoirist’s commitment to the truth is not of absolute importance in memoir writing because memoirs are fiction, and memoirs are about impression and feeling.
Most if not all literature books are all fiction. Not saying that all nonfiction books ever written are lies, but to make a well written and clear book, authors need to have a storyline. It is very rare to find a nonfiction book will be one hundred percent accurate. Memoirs are the same thing; it is almost impossible to write a story without a storyline. Memoirists add these facts to make the message they
In the fictional story the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a woman tormented by the townspeople for committing adultery. With fiction the author can paint a story in any way to deliver the right emotion to the audience. However, nonfiction must stay to the actual facts of the story. Typically, nonfiction stories contain eye-opening details that wouldn’t be believable if written as fiction. For example, the story of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were 2 olympic ice skating athletes trying to win gold. Tonya Harding had someone try to break Nancy Kerrigan’s legs so that she couldn’t compete. It is unbelievable as nonfiction, but as fiction it would seem too far out there to
The author demonstrates a personal example of how communication became a barrier because of the way Tan had to assist when her mother would speak. Tan would often have to relay the meaning of her mother’s message, because her mother’s “broken English” was difficult for others to comprehend. When Amy was younger, she remembers having to act as her mother on the phone, so that people on the other end would treat her mother with the respect she deserved. On one occasion, when her mother went to the doctor to get her CAT scan results on a benign brain tumor, her mother claimed that “the hospital did not apologize when they said they had lost the CAT scan and she had come for nothing” (Tan, 544 ). It was not until Tan had talked to the doctor that the medical staff seemed to care about any of her mother’s complications. Tan seems to come to the conclusion that a language barrier affects both sides. Not only does it affect Tan, but it also appears to affect the people around her. For instance, this happens when Tan changes her major from the stereotypical “Asian’s become doctors” to an English teacher. She eventually learns to write fiction and other writings that she was constantly told she would never be successful at.
What O’Brien sees as the purpose of the storytelling, and fictionalizing his experiences in Vietnam, can be seen through the “style” of his writing. It’s more than just a collection of stories. It’s a way for him to let go and start a new beginning. It is labeled “fiction” to make the story seem more engaging and to bring up the question, “Did this really happen?”
The stories can be completely true, completely fictional, or a mixture of both but no matter what as long as there is someone around who reads the story, the characters are saved from their “deaths.” The people or characters go on to live in the hearts and minds of the readers, who can go back on the journey again as long as they pick up the book and turn the pages. The stories may not all be factual or about real people, but the effect the stories have on the readers is what makes all stories true and really and is what saves us
One of the later entries in the book called “Good form”, helps alleviate the suspicion of dishonesty in the stories by bluntly telling the reader that all the other entries are a mix of both fact and fiction. O’Brien feels the need to make up parts of his stories due to the fact that he wants the reader to experience emotions as opposed to mental visuals. He describes these emotion-laden scenes as “story-truth” due to the fact that they are part story and part truth. The parts that are only for emotio...
...e potential issues that arise when rely on first-hand accounts like Anne Moody’s. One of the major issues is that Moody could have twisted her interpretation of the events going on because she believed a specific way. All together, I believe autobiographies are a good source for history.
The last the point is that good writing stems from telling the truth. Lamott makes a very good point in this paper the best I think in this essay besides comparing writing a paper to bathing a cat. For this she quotes the American poet Flannery O’ Connor’s poem “Anyone who survived childhood as enough material to write for the rest of his or her life.” (95) She says even if your childhood was one that was terrible you can still use that material. She says that childhood memories are some of the easiest and yet hardest things to elaborate on without lying or just talk about in
What provokes a person to write about his or her life? What motivates us to read it? Moreover, do men and women tell their life story in the same way? The answers may vary depending on the person who answers the questions. However, one may suggest a reader elects to read an autobiography because there is an interest. This interest allows the reader to draw from the narrator's experience and to gain understanding from the experience. When the reader involves him/herself in the experience, the reader encounters what is known and felt by the narrator. The encounter may provide the reader an opportunity to explore a time and place long past.
When I decide to read a memoir, I imagine sitting down to read the story of someone’s life. I in vision myself learning s...
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
Its all about the person 's experience, and their perception of the experience. There can be many different sides to a story, and very well be each individual 's truth. Tim O’Brien is a perfect example, he explains his truth about the Vietnam War in his own way and how he felt through his experiences. You get to see Tim O’Brien explain his own personal truths, and although he may have had different ways of explaining the Vietnam War it is his own truth. Whether it was about Jimmy Cross and his love for Martha, or the horrific experience of Ted Lavender being killed. He did a great job telling the story, whether it metaphorically meant something else or a figment of his imagination. It was his truth of the Vietnam
To understand what Couser refers to as “particular way of writing one’s life” a close examination of the origin and the meaning of the word ‘memoir’ is necessary. The word has its origins in French and it derives from ‘mémoire’ meaning ‘memory’. Coulter elaborates that “ … being based on memory rather than research, a memoir will necessarily be very different from a formal biography. It will be, or resemble, a reminiscence, consisting of personal recollections" (Coulter 19). Because of this aspect of the memoir he then explains, “In turn, this creates the expectation that the narrative may be impressionistic and subjective rather than authoritatively fact based” (Coulter 19).
Over the years, a Yale professor named Amy Chua, has harassed a huge amount of attention due to her idea on certain parenting styles that are foreign. The parenting styles are foreign figuratively and literally. These styles are ' 'foreign ' ' to most Western parents. The style focuses on a Chinese idea that Chua embraces, and has ended up well known or notorious, for the stern and thorough practices that Chua upheld with her own two little girls. Chua has gotten major feedback because of this. One of the people that is against Chua is, Hannah Rosin, who in fact is a author. In light of Chua, Rosin states an alternative idea for raising a child. It can become a very heated argument when considering both Chua and Rosin 's opinions. While they
Generally speaking, the two most frequently used genres in literature are fictional and non-fictional. Having said this, fictional and non-fictional literature are distinct regarding their purpose as well the literary devices they use. Literary devices are specific language methods which writers use to form text that is clear, interesting, and unforgettable. Fictional literature, for instance, is something that is made up; however, non-fictional is factual. Furthermore, non-fictional works of literature such as literary essays usually convey a message using literary devices that differ than those used in fictional literature such as short stories, which are meant to amuse its readers. Literary essays uses literary devices such as description,
First, the memoirs use personal narration of events, that is what memoirs do. The use of personal narrations is how the author constructed their story over race by reflecting and telling a personal memory. This can show a primary source’s view, which can help draw the reader in, because it’s not just all facts, which can be hard to follow or uninteresting. Coates’ memoir is about his personal memories of blacks being treated poorly. Staples’ memoir is about walking the streets of