Mimi Schwartz “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the line?” Reading Response

I particularly enjoyed this reading because it helped me with the issue of memoir stories, where do we draw the line? I missed class the day we talked about this, so I found it interesting to discover the line on my own. Schwartz discusses how our memories can sometimes (or often) fail us, so we need to be careful when writing memoir as to what is really true or what is made up. She also points out that we must be especially careful since we cannot know when we don’t truly remember something the way it was, and asking someone else who shared the experience doesn’t really matter since they will have the same memory dilemma. Schwartz cleverly solves this dilemma by saying that perhaps you remember the situation or person in a specific way, and that you should describe it/them the way you remember so that other people can picture them the same way.

          I loved the quote from Pam Houston, “I write fiction to tell the truth” because I believe that there is always some hint of truth behind works of fiction.  However this also blurs the line between memoir and fiction and the writer must decide where to draw the line if they are trying to write memoir.

          I also enjoyed when Schwartz discussed how to use fiction to protect certain people who do not particularly want to be included in the story. Another quote that was helpful was “the story is 90 percent factual; the rest is made up to protect those who didn’t as to be in this book”. I think it is necessary to do this because sometimes you need the characters to be in the story to fully capture it, but the person may not want to be in the story. This way you can create a fictional character that does similar things but protects the person’s identity.

          Overall this reading was very helpful, especially since I missed the class where this topic was discussed. 

Margaret Atwood “Happy Endings” Reading Response

I enjoyed this reading because it gives six different endings to the story “John and Mary meet”, all of which are radically different from the one before them. The only particularly happy ending is A, yet readers are still slightly dissatisfied because the ending was “too simple”.

          This reading helped me with endings because it showed me that even though as a writer I want to give the characters a happy ending, there are much more interesting stories to be told from those that do not have the simple happy ending. Each ending gets progressively darker, but they become so interesting. Atwood does a fantastic job at showing readers how many different possibilities for endings there can be.

          At the end, Atwood claims that “the only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” Then she proceeds to say that it’s more of the beginning that matters instead of the end. This leaves me with the idea that beginnings are what really count, because in the end all of the characters will “die”. However according to Atwood, the plot is the most difficult, and only the most talented writers can make it important. Overall this reading was very helpful since it put into context how important the entire story is. 

Elizabeth Bishop, Questions of Travel

This poem brings up the idea of travelling, and why people should travel versus staying home. People travel all over the world to see “rare” sights and objects, but why? While Bishop never tells the reader what to think and allows them to come to the conclusion on the benefits of travelling, this is still a highly effective poem. It left me thinking about why I like to travel. I like to experience new places, cultures, and meet new people, and I would not be able to accomplish this at home.

          Bishop begins her poem with imagery of waterfalls, alluring the reader into wanting to see the waterfall, to experience its beauty. When I read the opening stanza of the poem I thought Bishop was going to encourage readers to travel as often as possible and see as many “waterfalls” as they could, but then she talks about staying at home and imagining the waterfall instead.

          I particularly enjoyed when Bishop seemed to contradict herself when she would describe an image of travel, glorify it, and then ask if it is really necessary to go and see it versus imagining it at home. I could use this technique in my writing to make it more mysterious, by not telling the reader what I want them to think, and allowing them to decide for themselves.

          Questions Of Travel is an effective work, making the reader question what the poem is trying to tell them. Personally, I do not like reading something that tells me what the answer is, which may explain why I enjoy works by Plato. To me, this piece is effective and powerful because it leaves me to determine what the author is trying to say.

Ernest Hemingway, A Clean, Well- Lighted Place

The first time I read something by Hemingway, I found it difficult because of his writing style. Now that I am older and have more experience with reading and writing, I have come to appreciate his incredible writing style. This appreciation came shortly after when my creative writing class attempted to mimic his writing style and not use adjectives in describing things. I was only able to write one sentence in the five minutes I was given to do the exercise.

          I enjoyed Hemingway’s subtle culture infusions in his writing. He does not state that the story takes place in a Spanish speaking country, but rather reveals it towards the end when the waiters speak party in Spanish, and call each other hombre. I could use these subtle clues in my writing when creating a setting. Instead of stating where the characters are, I could develop clues about where they are, known as showing the readers instead of telling them.

          I enjoyed this reading because I was able to follow the story quite easily but it was still interesting to read. The characters were mysterious and well developed in the short span of the story. However, I was left questioning who the characters were out of context of the café, but maybe Hemingway wanted readers to determine that for themselves.

This story convinced me to start trying to read more of Hemingway’s works, because I have a lot to learn from him.