Musings of a Mentor

Aug. 19, 2006

WEM chapter 6

What I found most interesting in this chapter was how autobiographies have changed. As I was reading the chapter I kept thinking to myself, "I haven't read enough autobiographies!"

This quote meant a lot to me "the autobiographer's backward gaze doesn't just tell events --it sees them as part of a design that exists only because the writer has decided that one explanation (and no other) makes sense of his life."

I think this is what makes autobiographies special, I know that if I wrote the story of my life, it would be very different than if my daughter did or my husband or a perfect stranger years after my death. Motive and understanding give different events (those watershed moments) totally different meanings.

Then you have the changes in the way people think....."discovering atruth that is more important than historical fact"....."the idea of the subconscious and the elusive self"......"having to figure out the why behind feelings and actions"....

I think Susan makes a explains very well how these changes in autobiographies are just reflections of how society has a whole was shifting its thinking. It adds another level of reading the autobiography for me.

I was fasinated to think about women's autobiographies as expressing their struggles through male eyes. It dawned on me the only female autobiography I have ever read is Helen Keller's. It was interesting to note that while biographers often see women as forcible and full of conviction, in their autobiographies they see themselves as passively called to activism. I find that difference very intriguing!

When reading about the "black autobiography" and how the authors tried to fit their story into a "white" format and how their story really began with the recognition of their blackness I was a little sad, but I was also very proud of those that were brave enough to begin the process at all! I have read Frederick Douglass' autobiography and it pushes me to not give up on educating any child!

"Autobiography allows the writer to recreate his own life, to read meaning back into past events, to give shape and sense to what has been meaningless."

"You read an autobiography to find out what it's like to see the world from another point of veiw, from inside the skin of another person."

"A reader of an autobiography is hoping for a map through trackless waters, a handbook to the deep interior spaces."

These three quotes have really inspried me to try more autobiographies! When I read the suggested choices I was shocked I had only read about 4 of them. This is an area of reading I need to work on.

How to actually read one:
Grammar
Look for central events to help develop a theme.

Look for actual historical events that changed the author or how the author affected history.

Look for the most important person or people in the author's life. Since we define ourselves against others this will be very important to show how the author felt he was unique.

Logic
Do you think your theme and the author's theme for the book match?

Where is the "great truth" discovered, does that strengthen the theme?

Mark all the confessions and justifications!

Who would the author be if she could be perfect?

How did the author stop the story? The stopping point more than just about any other point, will lead the way to what the author thought was the theme of their life (so far).

Rhetoric
Is the author writing for himself or a group? Is he pointing out his uniqueness or leading a group?

Think about the time frames: when it happened, when it was written down, when you are reading it. What happened between all thoses times?

Be aware that you are reading with contemporary glasses on! Ask Do I agree? What would I have done?

Do you reach the same or a different conclusion about the pattern of the writer's life? What do you take away from this story?

In the past I have always thought of autobiographies as pretty boring, but given some of her recommendations and these new questions I feel ready to tackle a few more. I think Confessions will always hold a very special place in my heart and I do highly recommend it!

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I hope my blog inspires dreamers to dream big and leaves wisdom seekers a little wiser. :)