Rouletteload900

Narrative, Memoir, and Representation. Instructor: Danielle Drori. This is an online course (Greenwich Mean Time) The term “autofiction” is elusive yet compelling. Coined in the 1970s, it’s often used to refer to literary works that intentionally, and playfully, blur the boundaries between the genres of autobiography and prose fiction. Personal Narrative & Memoir Personal Narrative A personal narrative is typically written in first-person about something in the narrator’s life. It centers on a certain event and relays the narrator’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. A personal narrative may contain information about what the.

1. Examples Of A Memoir
2. Personal Narrative Vs Memoir

A memoir (/ˈmɛmwɑːr/;^[1] from French: mémoire: memoria, meaning memory or reminiscence) is any nonfictionnarrative writing based in the author's personal memories.^[2][3] The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiography since the late 20th century, the genre is differentiated in form, presenting a narrowed focus. A biography or autobiography tells the story 'of a life', while a memoir often tells the story of a particular event or time, such as touchstone moments and turning points from the author's life. The author of a memoir may be referred to as a memoirist or a memorialist.

Early memoirs[edit]

Memoirs have been written since the ancient times, as shown by Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also known as Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. In the work, Caesar describes the battles that took place during the nine years that he spent fighting local armies in the Gallic Wars. His second memoir, Commentarii de Bello Civili (or Commentaries on the Civil War) is an account of the events that took place between 49 and 48 BC in the civil war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate. The noted Libanius, teacher of rhetoric who lived between an estimated 314 and 394 AD, framed his life memoir as one of his literary orations, which were written to be read aloud in the privacy of his study. This kind of memoir refers to the idea in ancient Greece and Rome, that memoirs were like 'memos', or pieces of unfinished and unpublished writing, which a writer might use as a memory aid to make a more finished document later on.

The Sarashina Nikki is an example of an early Japanese memoir, written in the Heian period. A genre of book writing, Nikki Bungaku, emerged during this time.

In the Middle Ages, Geoffrey of Villehardouin, Jean de Joinville, and Philippe de Commines wrote memoirs, while the genre was represented toward the end of the Renaissance, through the works of Blaise de Montluc and Margaret of Valois, that she was the first woman to write her Memoirs in modern-style.^[4]

Until the Age of Enlightenment encompassing the 17th and 18th centuries, works of memoir were written by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury; François de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac of France; and Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, who wrote Memoirs at his family's home at the castle of La Ferté-Vidame. While Saint-Simon was considered a writer possessing a high level of skill for narrative and character development, it wasn't until well after his death that his work as a memoirist was recognized, resulting in literary fame.^[5]

From the eighteenth century[edit]

Over the latter half of the 18th through the mid-20th century, memoirists generally included those who were noted within their chosen profession. These authors wrote as a way to record and publish their own account of their public exploits. Authors included politicians or people in court society and were later joined by military leaders and businessmen. An exception to these models is Henry David Thoreau's 1854 memoir Walden, which presents his experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond.

Twentieth-century war memoirs became a genre of their own, including, from the First World War, Ernst Jünger (Storm of Steel) and Frederic Manning's Her Privates We. Memoirs documenting incarceration by Nazi Germany during the war include Primo Levi's If This Is a Man, which covers his arrest as a member of the Italian Resistance Movement, followed by his life as a prisoner in Auschwitz; and Elie Wiesel's Night, which is based on his life prior to and during his time in the Auschwitz, Buna Werke, and Buchenwald concentration camps.

Memoirs today[edit]

In the early 1990s, memoirs written by ordinary people experienced a sudden upsurge, as an increasing number of people realized that their ancestors’ and their own stories were about to disappear, in part as a result of the opportunities and distractions of technological advances. At the same time, psychology and other research began to show that familiarity with genealogy helps people find their place in the world and that life review helps people come to terms with their own past.^[7]

With the advent of inexpensive digital book production in the first decade of the 21st century,^[8] the genre exploded. Memoirs written as a way to pass down a personal legacy, rather than as a literary work of art or historical document, are emerging as a personal and family responsibility.^[9]

The Association of Personal Historians was a trade association for professionals who assisted individuals, families, and organizations in documenting their life stories.^[10] It dissolved in 2017.

Collections[edit]

With the expressed interest of preserving history through the eyes of those who lived it, some organizations work with potential memoirists to bring their work to fruition. The Veterans History Project, for example, compiles the memoirs of those who have served in a branch of the United States Armed Forces – especially those who have seen active combat.^[11]

Academia[edit]

The term 'memoir' has been used in an academic context to describe an essay on a learned subject. Examples include explanatory texts accompanying geologic maps.^[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'memoir noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes'. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com.
2. ^'memoir'. Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. July 5, 2015.
3. ^'memoir'. Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. July 5, 2015.
4. ^(in French) Viennot, Éliane, Marguerite de Valois et l'écriture de l'histoire, 1574-1614, Études Épistémè, 17, spring 2010.
5. ^Saintsbury, George (1911). Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de, In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica, 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 47, 48.
6. ^'Gedenkschriften over Napoleon's veldtochten, meegemaakt als soldaat bij het 2e regiment carabiniers te paard, 1805-1815'. lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
7. ^Ledoux, Denis (2006). Turning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing LIfestories. Writer. ISBN978-0974277349.
8. ^Henke, Harold (2001). Electronic Books and ePublishing: A Practical Guide for Authors. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN978-1852334352. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
9. ^Balzer, Paula (2011). Writing & Selling Your Memoir: How to Craft Your Life Story So That Somebody Else Will Actually Want to Read It. Writer. ISBN978-1599631356. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
10. ^Wright, Chris (2002-01-17). 'Ordinary people'. The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group.
11. ^'Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)'. loc.gov.
12. ^https://www.worldcat.org/title/amani-memoirs-a-provisional-soil-map-of-east-africa-kenya-uganda-tanganyika-and-zanzibar-with-explanatory-memoir/oclc/6022506

Writing a memoir is about more than describing events that have happened in your life; it's also an exercise in writing on a theme. These three powerful memoir examples will demonstrate how to draw people into a stranger's life story. Along with our sample, they will help you craft your own memoir to engage readers and share insights from your life.

Three Memoir Examples to Inspire

A good memoir relays real-life events in an engaging way. Studying memoirs can help you write a personal essay for a college application or an assignment, and it can improve your own storytelling abilities.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a famous memoir by poet Maya Angelou, available from Penguin Classics. It chronicles her experience of growing up amid racial bigotry and personal challenge. It's not just her heartwrenching tale but also the vivid imagery that makes it a page-turner.

The dress I wore was lavender taffeta, and each time I breathed it rustled, and now that I was sucking in air to breathe out shame it sounded like crepe paper on the back of hearses.

Angela's Ashes

Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, tells the story of his upbringing in the Irish slums during the era of the Great Depression. Published by Simon and Schuster, this memoir reads like a novel as Frank somehow manages to withstand an unspeakably difficult childhood.

When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while.

All Creatures Great and Small

James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small proves that a memoir doesn't have to deal with triumph over adversity; it can also be about finding wisdom and joy in the everyday. This beloved classic, published by MacMillan, tells the tale of Herriot's life as a country veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales.

I lay face down on the cobbled floor in a pool of nameless muck, my arm deep inside the straining cow, my feet scrabbling for a toe hold between the stones.

Writing a Memoir: An Example

Imagine you want to write a memoir about your experience as a shy child who had just moved to a rural community. This process can help.

Examples Of A Memoir

List Real Life Facts

Start with a list of facts and experiences that you may want to include:

• You had no friends except your dog.
• Your dad left your family the previous year.
• Your mom made you join Girl Scouts, and you needed to sell cookies door-to-door.
• People in this town were suspicious of outsiders.
• Because you had just joined the Girl Scouts, you didn't have very many badges yet.

Identify a Theme and Conflict

Before you begin writing, you need to know your theme. What do you want readers to learn from your memoir? You also need a central conflict. Study the types of conflicts in stories and decide which one you want to use.

• Theme - People aren't always what they seem.
• Conflict - You must face your fears in order to grow stronger.

Organize the Story to Build Tension

Now that you know the conflict and the theme you want the reader to understand, you need to organize the story so the tension builds toward the conflict. This is something you can do in a memoir that does not ordinarily happen in an autobiography.

In this example, you could arrange the events as follows:

1. The Girl Scout troop leader hands out the cookies and says that if you sell 24 boxes, you will earn a badge for your uniform. You really want the badge.
2. You load the cookies in your wagon and set off to make some sales. As you stand in front of the first house, you are afraid to knock.
3. You remember a previous experience knocking on the door of a house and having it slammed in your face.
4. You walk up to the house and are greeted by a grumpy old woman.
5. You make the sale.
6. Eventually, you receive your badge for selling 24 boxes.

Sample Memoir Excerpt

Putting all these pieces together, here is an example of how the narrative outlined above might play out in the actual text of the memoir:

The gravel crunched under the wheels of my red wagon. My father had bought it for me the week before he left us, and I'd never used it before. I hadn't wanted to use it, not even today, but I needed something to haul the cookies.

I stopped in front of Mrs. Nelson's house. I could feel her looking at me through the lace curtains, even though I couldn't see her. Now that I wasn't pulling the wagon, everything was silent. There was no wind. Even the birds had stopped their chirping. The curtain in Mrs. Nelson's front window moved a little bit.

Last year, the same month my dad had driven away, I'd had to sell chocolate bars for my old school. Dad had promised to take me, but he didn't. So while Mom was at work, I'd packed up the chocolate bars and knocked on the door across the street. When the door opened, I began to talk about my school. Before I'd even explained why I was there, the lady had slammed the door in my face. I was the only kid who didn't sell any chocolate bars that year.

Now, I took a deep breath and pulled the wagon up Mrs. Nelson's front walk. The paint was peeling on her railing, and her front door was a dirty white. I knocked, and the sound seemed to echo.

She opened the door a crack and grumbled, 'What do you want?'

Difference Between a Memoir and an Autobiography

Both memoirs and autobiographies involve a person writing about his or her own life, but that's where the similarities stop. These are a few of the key differences:

• Scope - An autobiography covers a set period of time in a person's life or often, the entire life. A memoir may skip around or only cover one or two events.
• Purpose - An autobiography's purpose is to inform a reader or record events. A memoir's purpose is to explore a theme and pass on insights.
• Length - An autobiography is generally a book-length manuscript. A memoir can be any length, from a personal essay of a few pages to an entire book.
• Tone - Because the purpose is different, the tone may be different too. An autobiography is often more formal and factual sounding, while a memoir may employ more humor and casual writing.

Get Inspiration From Fiction Too

Rather than just relaying the facts, a memoir is about telling a great story. It needs to have a central conflict or theme, and then arrange the story so the tension builds. In addition to reviewing memoir examples, take a look at some examples of short stories for inspiration. You'll find that even though they are factual, memoirs have a lot in common with fiction.

Personal Narrative Vs Memoir

B.A. English