...23 September 2015 Risks Worth Taking? A Reflection on the Effects of Memoirs The primary purpose of my research paper is to present a cross-section of the current conversations taking place around the way memoirs affect the writers who publish them. Based on my research, it appears that the effects tend to involve emotional and psychological consequences, as well as legal troubles in some instances. The discovery of this conversation helped me to refine my research topic into the question, “Do the benefits of publishing a memoir outweigh the risks of their effects for writers?” This research explores the positive and negative effects of memoirs on their writers to determine whether or not the risks are worth the rewards. Although writing a memoir can result in lawsuits and family discord, it more often proves to be therapeutic and can be the starting point of a nonfiction writer's career. What if I told you that memoirs are incredibly important to our society, because they document the human experience in such an honest way? Although they are valuable, they can also be risky. One key issue is that a memoir’s admissions risk causing major drama for writers, including legal trouble. In addition, they can be a catalyst for burning bridges with former employees. They can also potentially destroy long-term personal relationships. In this paper, I work to discover if it is worth all the drama to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As I began my research...
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...EN1320 9/27/14 Unit 2 Assignment 3 Elliot Hulse Motivation can from a myriad of sources. Mentors, books, movies, and music. For the particular goals I’m working towards, I get my motivation from a YouTube channel named “Strength Camp”. Now I’m not a die-hard social media buff by any means, however I can’t help but to give credit where it’s due. Elliot Hulse is the founder and creator of the Strength Came gym in Tampa, FL. I stumbled across his channel about two years ago, looking for a workout regimen, and the rest is history. Elliot is a pro strong man and strength coach, who provides motivational and instructional video blogs available for anyone with questions about strength and physical fitness. Elliot also pushes a more intellectual approach by fusing the body with the mind, his method is simply train your mind and your body will follow. With any mental and physical balance, a certain eating habit has to emerge, which is simply eat for the body you want. The saying “Athletes are not born, they are made” is especially true for his upbringing. Elliot grew up playing high school and college football, with was and excellent baseline for his true calling. Before Strength Camp, He participated in professional Strong Man competitions and eventually buckled down and opened his own gym. His impulse was not the smartest move financially, but the debt he accumulated with the new gym and a little girl on the way lit a fire under him to make this move a success. What...
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...In a situation such as me being a manager of a store and hiring a friend of mine who I caught stealing, I would defiantly terminate my friend and let the owner of the store know what happened. I would use ethical formulism to help make my decision because it is my duty as a manger to treat all employees’ the same friend or no friend. Not only is it my duty but it is truly the only good thing to do in a situation such as this. First, I put my neck on the line for a friend and my friend returns the favor by stealing from the store and making me look bad by having friends who steal. With friends like that who needs enemies. From a utilitarianism standpoint the greatest good to the greatest number of people would to honor the owner because overtime if an employee continues to steal the business may go under hurting employees’, the owner, and the customers. Religion comes into play in this situation because many people believe that religion is necessary to live ethically. God’s will is what is good. I consider myself very religious and faithful to my religion and I have always practiced by treating others how I want to be treated. One day if I become lucky enough to own a store and my manager’s friend is stealing I would hope my manger would do the right thing. Natural law is not something that I would rely on in a situation like this one. Morals are taught at a very young age and if morals were not taught and practiced at a young age more than likely that child will...
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...Orient is not a property of bodies or something originally existent in human beings; rather it is the social construct. Specifically, it is the product of the society’s dominant class – the Whites, the master- narrative. Racial differences have been used as a basis for racial stereotypes, for instance the White “norm” versus Non-white people. It is clear that racial identity is marked on skin. It is undeniable that some stereotypes do/might have a basis of truth, however such stereotypes do not take into the account of differences among the Orient. It is out of fear and apprehensiveness that lead to the birth of such unjust stereotypes, the film “Memoirs of a Geisha” directed by Rob Marshall highlights the irony of the stereotypes resulting in fragmentations of identity. “Memoirs of a Geisha” (Marshall, 2005) offers an interesting twist to our typical story-telling, the women are no longer silenced, and the story is told through the voice of a woman (though written by a male writer). It highlights the death of the master- narrative, as it highlights the differences among the “other” women, the presence of “Geisha” debukes the stereotype of women as “Angel of Home” perception (diversion of the master-narrative). Identity crisis is a major theme in the film, at first glance, audience is introduced to Sayuri as an innocent 7 year old and seems like...
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...It can wash away earth; it can put out fire; it can wear a piece of metal down and sweep it away. Even wood, which is its natural complement, can't survive without being nurtured by water. And yet, you haven't drawn on those strengths in living your life, have you?” (Golden, 125) What Separates Sayuri for the Other Geishas During the Shōwa period, Geishas were high-class entertainers that sometimes sold their bodies for money. They strived on perfecting their artistic attributes rather then prostituting their bodies for money. In the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden writes primarily about the life of a nine-year-old girl named Chiyo and her path to becoming a geisha. Golden uses Chiyo’s origins, eye color (destiny) and determination to contrast her with other geishas. However, he does not just narrate her life from another’s perspective. He gives Chiyo herself the role of telling her own story. As Golden introduces Chiyo’s memoir, he exaggerates the hardships in little Chiyo’s life. Coming from a poor fishing village (called Yoroido), she is sold off to a geisha house, separated from her sister, who she finds and tries to escape with (which failed). Later on in life when Chiyo (Sayuri) becomes a geisha, she confesses that she rarely tells anyone about where she was born. Their responses concerning her origin go as such, ‘“You growing up in a dump like Yoroido. That’s like making tea in a bucket!”’ These reactions further recluse Sayuri from telling other men she entertains...
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...The piece of literature that grabbed my attention and had a great effect on me is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, which was written by Ishmael Beah. The book is about Ishmael and his older brother and how they survived during the war in Sierra Leone. The boys live in horrific conditions and under a constant risk for their lives. The only thing that keeps them going is their hope, faith, love and memories about their family since they were told that there family was alive. However, due to the heartbreaking circumstances, the boys do not meet their family. As a consequence of such a cruel surviving, Ishmael and his friends are forced to become fearless child soldiers. However, Ishmael is eventually rescued by the United nations where he undergoes complete rehabilitation in the United States. Ishmael’s book inspires me to fight against injustice and crimes. I was born in Nepal, where we moved from, to the current residence in the US. Nepal is also under great political instability and social differences. Hence this book inspired me to fight against injustice and crimes. As a consequence, I am trying to make people aware by encouraging my friends and family to educate the Nepalese citizens. The book also provides a unique perspective of the dark sides of civil wars. I have learnt not to judge people instantly because their upbringing may have been completely different. Here, at the community college, I have met friends from different cultures and backgrounds. I have...
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...there was a large generation gap it was a bit more difficult for me to share my views, so I mainly listened and observed other people’s thoughts. The discussion itself was very helpful because of the different views people had about the memoir. One of the themes of A Long Way Gone that we discussed was the importance of hope. We mainly talked about how this theme was not constant throughout the memoir and that it changed with time. For example one person brought up how at first Ishmael’s only motivator was the hope of his parents being alive, then when he realized that he would never be reunited with them he had lost his hope. It was only when he remembered what his father had said about a person only lives if they have something to live for which gave him his hope back. As far as themes that’s really the only one that we discussed, but we did discuss a lot of other interesting aspects of the memoir. We discussed the validity of Ishmael’s timeframes given within the memoir and talked about the criticism that A Long Way Gone has received. Most people in the group thought that even if the times were off it is insignificant with regards to what he’s been through as a child soldier and the main message that he’s trying to project through this memoir....
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...“Chopsticks”, an excerpt from a longer memoir entitled The Attic: Memoirs of a Chinese Landlord's Son, Cao recounts a tale from his automotive school days in Shanghai China of students crafting their own chopsticks. Cao tells us about how the students made their chopsticks and the clandestine maneuvers required to obtain the raw materials. Some of the students went to great lengths to carve very elaborate chopsticks that were sometimes used to acquire a boyfriend or girlfriend. This is an enjoyable essay that not only illustrates a footnote in Chinese history between the 1950's and 1970's, but also brings some humor and a sense of irony to what many westerners may consider a dark time for a little understood country. Cao begins by telling us about his four years spent at an automotive manufacturing school in Shanghai, China. The conditions at the school were harsh. Meals were scarce. So scarce, in fact, that the administrators encouraged more sedate pass times such as chess and cards so that the students would not use up the precious few calories they gained from the food (Cao 109). All of the students wore pouches that contained their personal set of chopsticks. The clandestine manufacture of these personal utensils became the favored hobby among the students. The most treacherous stage in making one's own chopsticks was stealing the bamboo. The student dormitories were constructed of bamboo and the students would go on nightly raids, stealing bamboo stalks from the piles used by...
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...Jeannette Wall’s memoir portrayed in The Glass Castle, depicts the impact of education in a person’s life. Rex and Rose Mary Walls raise their children (Lori, Jeannette, Brian and Maureen), in an unusual parenting way that involve giving the children infinite independence. Even though this independence brought a lot of misfortune to the children, in terms of starving and Rex stealing their money to drink, this independence introduced a unique style of educating the children. This unique style involved not going to school for the first years of the children’s life, spending their majority of their time reading books and taught them everything they needed to know about the “world” and technology. Rex trained the children by teaching them variety...
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...Bich Minh Nguyen. She said that her reasoning behind writing Stealing Buddha’s Dinner was because her childhood was defined by a feeling of isolation. She also said “It does seem easier now for Asian immigrants to be themselves; a good deal of progress has been made since the early 1980s. At the same time I think the negative idea of the “foreigner” still persists—not just for Asian immigrants, but for many nonwhite immigrants and their descendants, people who continue to be asked: “Where are you from? I mean, where are you really from?”” My generalization of this book is that Bich struggled during her childhood simply to “fit in.” Stealing Buddha’s Dinner reminds me so much of The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle. (I used this example in a previous assignment but I feel like it fits so well into the main theme of this course.) Bich is fixated with the idea of trying to assimilate herself into the American culture. In The Mixed-Up Chameleon, the chameleon (Bich) sees all of the animals at the zoo and (her peers) wants to “be like them” in some way. She goes to great lengths to eat American food and take an American name and dress the way other Americans do. I see many similarities between the feelings of lonely segregation that Bich felt and those of the students discussed in the case studies throughout our textbook. Works Cited Nguyen, B. M. (2008). Stealing buddha's dinner: A memoir. Penguin Group USA. Stealing buddha’s dinner . (n.d.). Retrieved from...
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...Hidden Girl Essay Letting go of negative emotions can often have a remarkable impact on the body. Without forgiving people and accepting what has happened, you cannot move on with life. Throughout the memoir Shyima learned to forgive many people such as her family, foster family in California and her captors. In the memoir, Shyima forgave her sister for stealing money, her mother for leaving her at her captor’s house and her father for yelling at her. An example from the book, the letter Shyima wrote to her captors: “And, yes, I am away from my family because of what you said she did. So I had to deal with you because I love my sister and would not like to see her in jail”. (Hall: pg.134).We had love for one another, and when all is said...
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...Schwalm, Leslie A., “Agonizing Groans of Mothers” and “Slave-Scarred Veterans”: The Commemoration of Slavery and Emancipation “Agonizing Groans of Mothers” and “Slave-Scarred Veterans”: The Commemoration of Slavery and Emancipation Leslie A. Schwalm This paper explores the public memory of black slavery and freedom among white and African American Midwesterners of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Using an innovative approach that probes public celebrations, autobiography and memoir, family history and obituaries of the formerly enslaved, this paper challenges several key conclusions about African American relationships to the slave past that have been drawn by scholars in both literary and African American studies. Rather than...
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...In the memoir Always Running, the author Luis Rodriguez hangs out with the wrong group of friends, commits violence, does drugs, and gets in trouble all the time. He is a very complicated character , he wants to do good things for his community but the people he hangs out with get into trouble and only care about their gang. Because of this, he is not a very sympathetic character. His parents want him to be like his brother a scholar and be successful, but he keeps making the wrong choices. At the same time, Luis also tries to do good things for his community. In the book, Luis joins the gang and gets beaten. He also goes out to beat others as a part of the initiation. “Do it man”,he said. Simply that. I clasped the screwdriver in the...
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... who didn’t steal anything, but were discriminated against simply because we were “unruly teenagers”. This happens every day, all over America. We don’t tell the youth very much, because they “won’t understand”, they’re “too young”. We gawk when elderly people run marathons, or even participate in simple recreational activities such as volleyball or swimming, because they are “old”, and “incapable”. People who are discriminated against, no matter the reason, can be hurt by it. Age discrimination is the same as racial discrimination, or religious discrimination. They can be offended, because it isn’t something they can help. Like my example with my friends, we were simply having fun as we walked into the store. We had no intention of stealing anything or causing any trouble, we could have even been honor roll students and athletes, and we were still discriminated against for being teenagers. I can relate to “Aria: A...
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...Poverty is bad enough by itself, yet when one combines poverty with child neglect the children are put in a dangerous situation. In the memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the Walls family proves that poverty and child neglect can be extremely dangerous to the kids. Whether it is from their lack of food all the time or neglect to such an extent that they got into a gunfight. The children have been in these dangerous situations where they could have been injured or killed. Taking a closer look into this issue will shed light on why these situations are extremely dangerous for the children. Throughout the story poverty is a prevailing issue where the parent’s are too lazy to work or keep a budget and do not accept welfare to feed their...
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