Week 6: Analyzing Memoirs

1.) Both of these memoirs were really interesting to read. Even though the memoir titled Cousins was on the shorter side, it still caught my attention and kept me interested throughout the couple paragraphs. Lena Dunham's memoir was longer, but it also kept my attention throughout the whole piece. I didn't see myself in the first memoir. I have had people in my life who I stopped talking to after a big fight, but I never saw them again and made up just by looking at them. I am the kind of person who has to talk things through. I did see myself a little bit in Lena's writing because I can be really obsessive with things the same way that she was about getting sick and dying. I'm not obsessive about the same things as her- I'm more obsessive about school or things going on in my life, but I can still relate to those feelings of worry taking over your entire life.

2.) I do not think either author over tells their stories- it is their story, who are we to tell them how to write it? Lena's memoir is clearly longer than the community blog post memoir, but I don't think she over tells her story. The Cousins blog post shows the situation though the descriptions and metaphors. Lena's memoir is more so told than shown because she includes a lot of dialogue and specific explanation of what happened. Cousins has a ton of description and visualization. It says things like, "It was like watching someone take off on a sail boat going out into the Atlantic, not knowing if you would ever see them again." This really helps the reader visualize the situation and better understand how the narrator was feeling in that moment. Lena's memoir is a little less descriptive because she offers more dialogue. You see how conversations went and the way that Lena talked and thought, but you don't get much visualization. I think a few more details in the Cousins post would be helpful because I am curious about what really happened between the two. What was the fight really about?

3.) I do get a sense of truth-telling in these two stories. Both authors seem credible and do not seem to be exaggerating the details of the situation. As I was reading, I didn't find myself feeling skeptical about what was being explained. Lena includes names of people and facts in her memoir, which makes it even more believable. Even though the blog post memoir isn't as specific as far as what happened between the two people, it didn't seem dishonest or unbelievable to me as the reader.