The Art of the Memoirs - Essay Example

The Art of the Memoirs The Liar’s Club My response towards the memoir is one of enlightenment and hope. In many instances, the author has taken time to show the journey that she took to get to where she is today. It has not been easy. If anything, she has had a very troubled childhood that was a result of the things that were experienced around her (Karr, p 2). Alcoholism is one of the things that contributed significantly to the violent and turbulent times that were experienced by the family. As a result, it became evident that at each and every step of the way, Mary came from a dysfunctional family that contributed to the negative thoughts and experiences that she witnessed (Karr, p 5). This is because the family is a stepping stone to the individual and what they turn out to be like in future. The feelings and expectations of each and every family are radiated and shown in the people that are in the family. If the situation in which they grew up dictates that they are passionate and successful this is as a result of what they were indoctrinated to as they were growing up. The author states that it is prudent for each person in the family to contribute to the positive outcome of everyone. This is because at each point, the contributions will count for something once they have grown up. Mary’s father should have had the capacity to stop drinking and netting violence on his family (Karr, p 12). This would have created an avenue for them to raise their children in a peaceful environment. The basic component in each and every society is mirrored in the families that they come from. This would have the capacity to ensure that the family grew up as a unit that was a combination of each and every factor that made them unique. This will be radiated with love, care and concern for each other. The Color of Water One thing that is clear is that image and general self worth is everything that defines the way one grows and sees themselves in the society that they are socialized. Individual identity is a crucial factor in each and every society. The McBride family had to face societal segregations. James father was segregated because he was black. This was mostly by the whites in the society. He went ahead and married a white woman (McBride, p 21). This symbolic act did not obviously augur well with her family and the rest of the black folks where they resided. The journey that James father took was one of resilience and stamina at each and every step of the way. He encouraged his wife to be proud of where she came from. The foundation of their church was a genuine representation of what they felt and stood for. In the memoir, the strength and resilience that James had to put up was a result of his upbringing. This encouraged him to fight for what he believed in and what he did not. This is exactly what his mother did to ensure that she raised them all despite the demise of their father (McBride, p 27). Life has so many instances and experiences that have the sole duty of being eye openers. They offer guidance on what should be done at each and every step of the way. This is the only way that life and what it has to offer can be experienced and enjoyed. The memoir offers the consolation that each and every experience has the duty of ensuring that it is possible to deal with the issues. The tribute from the son to his resilient mother is one that has the sole aim of offering inspiration to all the involved parties. The sole encouragement comes from the fact that the differences that are witnessed in families set them apart in terms of uniqueness and societal perfection. Colors of the Mountain by Da Chen In my opinion, ‘Colors of the mountain’ is a beautiful memoir of the author, Da Chen, as he was growing up. The book reveals the sad childhood of the author as a young boy from the Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution in China (Chen, p 5). Personally, the memoir is very touching and fascinating because through the author’s story, we get to know about the fascinating history of the country, China, during its great upheaval. There were a lot of social injustices and discrimination during the time the author was growing up. This is revealed through the deprivation the Chen’s family receives due to the political situation in the country (Chen, p 10). I am also of the opinion that Da Chen’s life was very troubled as a child. This is because of a number of reasons such as the fact that he was born to a family of landowners, which was taken as a crime during that time. He was further beaten at school and ridiculed wherever he would go. Another way in which the author is deprived is being denied an opportunity at higher education just because his grandparents once owned land. I think that this was very unfair because he was always a top performer in his classes. Chen’s family also had to endure many other forms of deprivation such as lack of justice, bad medicine and rotten food (Chen, p 67). Despite these deprivations, Chen grew up yearning to become more (Chen, p 71). Just like me, he wondered how and why his father had to be jailed for having a university degree. It also does not make sense that his grandfather had to constantly face public disgrace simply because he once owned land. The author has done a great job in revealing the history of China. In conclusion, the book is very insightful, especially when it comes to encouraging people who have had very difficult childhoods. The memoir reveals the hardships faced but children as they grow up but also points out that they have the choice of being successful. Without a Map by Meredith Hall In my opinion, ‘Without a Map’ by Meredith Hall is a classic and elegant memoir. The author underwent a lot of problems as a child because she happened to become pregnant at the tender age of sixteen (Hall, p 12). This incident marked the beginning of all her problems. First, she was shunned by her parents and then her community. I think that this was a very unfortunate incident because her parents should have helped her instead of shunning her. They begin by kicking her out of the house and she is later taken in by her father and step mother, but very reluctantly. She continues to face hardships such as being banished and hidden for a long time. This is wrong, especially for a child who has just given birth. She needed to be taken care of and shown love but she receives the opposite treatment. Due to the hardships, she is forced to give up her baby for adoption. She then wanders through the Middle East and survives through selling her little possessions and then her blood (Hall, p 39). The author simply does this for lack of a better choice. She returns to her home town, New England, where she tries to stitch up a new life. I am of the opinion that her new life was still very sad and unhappy because she had not let go of her invisible and silenced grief. Her lost son finally finds her when he is 21 years old. Hall is disturbed by the fact that her own son grew up in poverty with a very abusive father in her home town. I view their reunion as being very turbulent, tender and ultimately redemptive. It is very sad that after all that had happened, Hall’s parents did not ask for her forgiveness for what they had done. However, Hall offers them her love as they continue to age. In conclusion, this book is an incisive memoir that reveals another childhood problem faced by a young girl who fights all odds to emerge very successful in life. Family hardships through the eyes of the Children Every family has its own unique problems. According to Mary Karr, there is absolutely no family that is not dysfunctional. The unique features that make up the family can be an addition or a reduction in the overall success of the family. It is imperative for the families to take time to understand each other. Using the example of Liar’s Club by Mary Karr, her family had issues that were a result of the fact that they could not effectively understand each other. Her parents did not get along, yet they could not leave each other permanently (Karr, p 7). Every time they left each other, they came back together to work out their marriage. Their overdependence on alcohol and other drugs did not offer them the solace that they sought in the drugs. This created a platform for many other issues to be incorporated into the picture. The family thus had other issues that did not contribute in any way to their overall positive growth. Their level of being either dysfunctional or not, depended on their ability to deal with the issues that were affecting them. Families have the capacity in them to deal with the issues that affect them. James McBride took a very long time to understand his family and what it entailed. As a child, he wished that he would understand the dynamics that made his family what it was in the past. He wished that he would understand why the society was the way it was. The segregations and attitudes that were experienced by his family were curtailed by the way James father handled the situation. He ensured that despite the religious and racial differences that were prevalent in his home, love prevailed at all costs. This was one of the factors that prompted James to reduce the reckless life that he had started living. He took time to understand his mother’s resilience and the troubled journey that she took with her family, her escape and ultimately her marriage to her black husband (McBride, p 99). Children thirst for an environment that gives them a chance to grow up as they ought to. This is with love, care and concern. Their parents are the epitome of support and the protection that the children require as they grow up. In the event that this is not the case. There are very many negative effects of these actions and behaviours on children. This will be mirrored in the way that they grow up and are accepted in the society. This is one of the reasons as to why Karr and McBride started living recklessly at each and every point. The void that they felt because of the frustrations that they had felt all through life discouraged them from advancing in one way or the other in their lives. It is evident that children are adversely affected by the negative aspects of their lives that their experiences as children. The shadows that are felt in their lives create an avenue of negativity. In the example of Da Chen, in colors of the mountain, the author reveals the hard times that he faced as a child. Even though most of his problems were as a result of the actions of the society around him and his family, he still had to face a lot of challenges as a child. Chen and his family had to be content with the deprivations that the society showed towards his family (Chen, p 5). During those times, it was literally a crime to own land in that region. Land owners were despised by the rest of the society because they were considered to be evil oppressors. Chen’s grandparents were once landowners. They were discriminated and hated by the rest of the society for this reason. They did not have any peace and often lived in fear. This could also be seen in the life of Chen. He was greatly affected by this situation and wanted to make things different. He wanted to make a difference when he grew up. His father was also innocently jailed, simply because he had a college degree. Chen was distressed by this and did not understand why his father and family in general had to undergo such painful moments. Most families usually undergo a lot of pain and grief. Stories of the grief and pain undergone by many families are usually told by children who grown up having made the choice to be different despite the challenges that they had to grow up in. Children usually see a lot of things as they grow up. As children, they are usually powerless and voiceless. They usually do not have the ability to make any difference when they are young children. They therefore take all that life has to offer to them. The four memoirs discussed in this essay are a classic example of these claims. All the four authors had similar childhoods in the sense that they faced unusual difficulties that children should face. The good thing about all these is that the lives of all the four authors were shaped by their childhoods. They grew up to become what they are today because they were inspired to work hard by the hardships they faced. Children are usually the mirrors of many families. Through them, it is possible to see what families are going through. In conclusion, the family hardships have the capacity to affect all the people involved in one way or the other. Once they have, the steps taken to deal with the issue dictate the journey that is followed after. This creates a platform for all the involved parties to deal with the issues that they are faced with. Families that handle their issues with love end up recording the best possible results as witnessed in the memoirs of the four people. The journey that they have taken to get to where they are has ensured that they have adequately dealt with their problems. The problems might define who they are in one way or the other but what is clear is the journey that they have taken is a representation and manifestation of who they have turned out to be. The memoirs touch on segregation, tribute and the journey that people have taken from one point to the next. The triumph that the families attained is an indication that no matter what families go through, they have the capacity to love each other (McBride, p 363). This love will be manifested in the way that they handle themselves and their families till they can effectively speak about the long path that they took to get to where they are today. Many at times, the families get stuck along the way in dealing with the issues that affect them. This may be because of one impediment or another that comes along the way. It is with the help of other people and their experiences that the stuck families can recover from their situation. Works Cited Chen, D. Colors of the Mountain. Virginia: Random House, 1999. Print. Hall, M. Without a Map. New York: Beacon Press, 2008. Print. Karr, M. The Liars Club: A Memoir. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Print McBride, J. The Color of Water. New York: Riverhead Trade, 1997. Print. Read More