I've read the class readings this evening and all were grueling. The writing by Mathias was about how he developed a style in which he writes his memoirs. A style that sets him apart from the other Privates in his platoon. In "Knocked Up" there were memories given by Nicole Filmore that would make any teenager feel just as she felt. She told of her sister becoming pregnant and proceeded to the birthday itself, including adolescent opinions and observations that were quite entertaining. Lastly, "Sing with Me Somehow" by Alison Slusarczyk, was a depressing memoir about a drug addicted teen and the support received from her younger sister.
I had different reactions to each of these readings. The writing by Mathias really introduced me, in a complex manner, to how the art of writing memoirs is really a craft that incorporates what historians and novelists do best. Mind boggling to be honest, but i was able to get a firm grasp on the topic after re-reading! Nicole's "knocked up" i found to be a very entertaining memoir that vibes very well with the teenage reader. She includes lots of phrases and curse words that teens are very accustomed to. She also included a technique id like to incorporate into my memoirs. Quoting and making references. Allison's memoir was a very dark story that really showed me again how moving these memoirs can really be.
1. I wonder if Mathias would have been able to produce such a memoir if he'd never thought to write as many notes home as he did?
2. Where did Nichole learn to reference the information she included in her memoir?
3. I wonder if dealing with Allison's sister encouraged her to pursue a career in a field that could help people like her sister?
3 comments:
Hey! I really enjoyed reading your reactions to the different memoirs and felt similarly towards some of the readings. I thought that the 1st reading about Mathias was confusing just because of the way he words his sentences. I was not all that interested at first, but when he talked about the way he developed a style in writing, I knew that information would be helpful. I loved reading “Knocked Up,” just because it was very intriguing the way the teenager used her language. I felt as though she was a friend talking to me about her story and everything she went through. The way Nicole wrote her memoir made me feel as though I was actually there, so it was very entertaining. I also thought it was funny that she was able to incorporate profanity like most teenagers refrain from doing when writing anything for school. Another thing I enjoyed about reading your blog were the questions. It would be really cool if Allison decided to take a career in helping people seeing as how she was the backbone for her sister though the tough times.
I completely agree 100%. Although boring, i did learn a few interesting writing tricks that i plan on using in my memoir. The story about the drug addicted sister slightly bothered me due to the dark, depressing way and on the subject it was written but i managed to persevere through it. My favorite part of these readings although was the WWII veterans Memoir. I love reading about WWII and hearing about it from someone who was actually there interested me.
In reaction to Natalie, I agree with everything she has stated. I too think that the use of profanity and other language in "Knocked Up" added reality to the narrative and made it more personable. Furthermore, I also agree that the article by Frank Mathias was somewhat confusing because of sentence structure, but all in all the information will be helpful when writing my memoir. Finally, I agree that with Natalie that Erik posed some great questions to the authors. Indeed, it would be very neat to see Alison take a job as someone who helped others because she has had experience with her sister’s situation.
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