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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
ReplyDeleteKarr shows us different voices we can use as reference for finding ours. On page 39, the example of Wright's piece was a vivid example that reminded me of the beginning of Ferguson's piece. I specifically liked "...the more memorable the voice, the truer a book sounds, because you never lose sight of the narrator..." In chapter 4 of Ferguson's book, I felt that connection to her description of Ventura and the types of films she speaks so openly about of 1993. I tried my best to stay with her but I lost interest with Ferguson in chapter 4. it wasn't until they arrived at the camp and start poking around that I regained focus and applied more attention. Karr says "the goal of a voice is to speak not with objective authority but with subjective curiosity"(49). That is really something I reflected on. Although the next paragraph discusses a heavier subject and her mental approach it is interesting how she chose to word this experience and the ways that the word choice over reflective view alter the text and interpretation of the events by the reader. Although, a slow start, I enjoyed the way Ferguson describes Ventura (70ibook) an how she proceeds to make him a rounder character, one that the reader can try to understand and not just digest. The ways she discusses his wife, the ways they are content with living, the surroundings, and their outlook on Ferguson at the end of the chapter, I liked the most. Chapter 5 promised more scandalous events but I didn't mind the horny toad story and laughed at her and Sandy in the plane. I enjoyed the ways she explained the thunderstorm and how she fulfilled her opening remarks and closed the chapter.
-Amanda Gonzales
The use of our voice interprets the truth or believability within our piece, at least from what I’ve read from Karr. Yet if it isn’t the “voice,” it is what is being inserted in our memoirs. Some would convey comfort and pleasantness or fury and intensity from the writer. Yet, we must avoid encumbering our readers with such cliché voices that wouldn’t upset them. Empathy is one of the keys to garner a reader’s attention, or at least try to have the reader to get close to experiencing our own events. Or to feel that same emotional tension between the writer and reader. I have to wait an entire week to return to class to fully understand this. Might reread the chapter.
ReplyDeleteWith Ferguson’s chapter 5 and chapter 6, she is still contemplating with a topic of choice for her film. I feel the same way with coming up with an idea for my memoir. Her use of networking is awesome. Having a friend like Sandra to fly her to Maruata on a two seater propeller plane, that is some opportunity there. Ferguson took a risky journey on chapter 5 to find this iguana caretaker, getting by criminals and drug trafficking. And I applaud to her for throwing me off at the very beginning of this chapter. I was just waiting for a “Ha! Gotcha” at the end. As for her return trip to see Ventura and to talk about his life, hopefully this catches on as her film idea. This is a man who dreams big and outside his village. Most importantly, in my opinion, to get the hell away from those snub evangelists, damn selfish pricks. Instead of talking about Raramuri, she can interview one specific person other than the broadness of the tribe. Yay! More character development!
Hector Dimas
Ferguson’s chapter 5 and chapter 6 that helped in the reader to get a better understanding of her, creating a much rounder character that is easier to digest the further that I read into her book. It gave a look into the living, the surroundings, and the outlook of Ferguson and the characters discussed. She would go in depth in explaining elements such as the thunderstorm and how those around her fulfilled their dreams, getting away from the world they may have once known. She even was open with the events of her past involving finding an iguana caretaker, coming into contact with criminals and drug trafficking.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 of Karr’s book, it is discussed the vital nature of voice and the use of empathy. By creating a voice of your own, it is essential that you establish a connection with the reader and make them feel as though they are to experiencing the events discussed. This cannot be done if you were to resort to clique voices. This is best done when empathy is demonstrated in your memoir. One must be will to go out there way to establish a connection with the reader, demonstrating what is worth the attention of the reader.
It is reading these pieces that gave me a better idea of what a good memoir should look like. It helped settle my worries a bit; I am bit stressed over the fact that fiction is very difficult for me and with other classes, I do not feel as though my heart is it. This weighs heavy on my mind since my dream is to be a writer and to show people that I have what it takes to do so. I do not want to disappoint myself, nor friends, family or professors by showing them what I can do.
I enjoyed Chapters 4 & 6 of Ferguson’s book because of the dimension she gives to her experiences and the characters of her story. I really enjoy her style of writing because she does not hesitate to leave out details that play an important role in her affairs in Mexico. For instance, I appreciate that she shows the doubt she has in the Mexican Navy men, and even Ventura for an instance. I want to ask her what her fears were, and why they are not openly admitted in her chapters. The things she finds interesting really intrigue me as well, especially the iguanas. I think she is really one with Mother Nature, since she makes all these beautiful references to the weather, sunsets, and forms that compose her setting. Being in Mexico on her own, without truly being able to trust anyone, really must have been terrifying. I find her courageous and adventurous, so that is why I am so enthralled when I read her chapters. I guess the only thing I was not fond of was her lack of explanation as to why the Evangelists disliked her. Of course, she might have not known why, but deciding to be oblivious to it for her own benefit seemed sort of biased to me, I wonder how she came off to the people of the village, or to the man who refused to make eye contact with her in chapter 4.
ReplyDeleteKarr believes that the success, clarity, and believability of a memoir depends entirely on the writer’s voice. Every author’s voice is their unique stylized way of communicating with their reader. She presents the reader with different examples of voices found in memoirs to help the reader discover their own voice within their writing. Karr is also successful in presenting the theory that the secret to finding any voice “grows from a writer’s tractor beam of inner truth about psychological conflicts to shine the way.” This quote resonated with me, I agree with Karr’s statement because much of my own writing has shifted throughout the years but has consistently been shaped by real life experiences as well as my own psyche. She goes on to say the great memoirists whom she has met in real life carry the same voice in person as they do on paper. This is also a brilliant point to make. As writers, we must train ourselves to expose all our emotions vulnerabilities in our work as we do with our loved ones in real life. By doing so, we can express our thoughts and the range of our emotions in a way that comes across as authentic and not pathetic or superficial. Karr’s thoughts and insight on the use of voice in writing and how empathy is the key to authenticity in a memoir are both resourceful and concise. By reading chapter 4 I can continue reading on with the confidence that I am on the right track to becoming an auspicious writer.
-Damaris Cantu-
In chapter 5 on Ferguson’s book the way she started the chapter was interesting and caught me off guard. She starts off with how she had slept with around thirty men from the Mexican Navy. I notice that she incorporated her self-doubts towards the idea of filming. I think it was nice of her to have put that because I like to know that she had doubts with her work as many of us sometimes do. I found the experimental iguana farm interesting, I liked that she gives enough information to get a better understanding and description of why it was formed. I think it was a good thing that they formed this to stop the iguana’s from getting killed “for beer money”, as mentioned in the chapter they do kill some for food but they do release others into the trees “to repopulate”. In chapter 6 I like how she has these quotes and cards on her refrigerator. I think the idea is a great way to help her when she needs motivation, when she’s stressed, or when she needs to cheer up. In a way, it helps her remind herself of who she is and what she can do whenever she’s feeling doubtful about herself.
ReplyDeleteIn Karr’s its more about how when writing a memoir, you’re mostly writing down facts and memories this makes it easier for you to write. Also, that if you believe you should be completely honest with every little detail and write the truth even if it’ll offend others to go for it. Perhaps this will help you structure out your writing better. I agree with “voice is important” because if you’re not going to write it in the way that would be told in person then the reader would get bored and feel like its dragging.
Monika Gonzalez
In the chapter by Karr, we see how she emphasizes the importance of casting our voice to the reader. Karr tells us that without a strong voice, we will lose the reader’s attention, we need to be able to tell our story in a sense that the reader feels that they are living the moment as well. I love the sentence where she mentions “it’s harder to translate lived experience onto a page”, which I identify myself with. At first I, would think it was easy to write an autobiography, since after all it is about one’s life, but then I came across a memoir, which seems like a mini version of an autobiography, and I find myself thinking, “do I remember how everything happen?”. Karr also mentions how “the more memorable the voice, the truer a book sounds”, which brings us up to finding a way to keep the reader entertained enough to read the book from beginning to end without abandoning the book.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapters by Ferguson, she seems to be throwing the ideas in her mind as they come to her. That might have been how she remembers them, but I feel she would need to go back and do some revisions on the way she sounds on paper. Sometimes I catch myself doing the same thing Ferguson does, I seem to type down ideas as they come to me, rather than taking a step back and analyzing the way it should be written for the reader to understand.
-Celica Chavez
Ferguson has a way of making sure that no detail is left out from her experience in Mexico, I enjoy that about her writing. She shares enough about what she experiences but no more than she has to. As I continue reading her work I seem to be making sense of who she is or well was at this particular point in her life. The experience I get from her readings are honest and deep, I only wish to come across that truthful and real. I understand now what a memoir should make others feel and see but I am not sure I am quite capable of that yet.
ReplyDeleteOne's voice is key to truth in our writing. Some may not follow as I did not with Ferguson, I believe it might be because of her voice. No that it is not truthful, it just did not resonate with my particular persona. I think that it's changed though, I feel that she has opened up with her emotions and experiences. Empathy, that's what can really make one's piece memorable and for me it seems quite hard to do. I feel that I would be truthful to who I really am, unlike the memoirs that Karr mentions I feel as though I could not be the same in person as I am in writing. Then I think maybe they are the same in writing as they are in person meaning that what they write helps them transpire as who they truly are. I think that I might be able to write a truthful memoir if I tap into my inner voice.
-Elizabeth Diaz
Does the reader hear my voice? That is the question one might ask as a writer. According to Karr in chapter four our own, it is important to bring together the reader and the writer to one experience. Make it one voice by the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Using empathy is a great way to grabbing the reader’s attention. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another and listening with the ears of another. Writing a memoir is where my inner voice will probably be herd the most.
ReplyDeleteIt was great reading chapter five and six in Ferguson’s “The Haunting of the Mexican Border.” I find her writing very simple to read and understanding. I like the way she writes in detail. She describes each character and each place in Mexico in such a unique way. It really makes the reader feel that sight and sounds of the story. Especially in chapter six where she has decided to do the documentary with Ventura and planning her filming stages.
-Luis Rodriguez
Karr’s chapter is about how we express our voice onto paper. That is one of the hardest things to sometimes to because, how we write is not really the tone that we would speak in. When it comes to writing we need to do our best to help the reader understand how we are feeling at the moment and give the writing a “voice”. “However you charm people in the world, you should do so on the page”.
ReplyDeleteIn Fergusons book chapters 5-6, the first paragraph is just funny how she starts off. “I have to confess. I slept with the Mexican navy. About thirty of them”. I’m not sure why she would put that, it doesn’t really flow into the next paragraph. It’s funny and just out there. My favorite part in chapter 5 was when she sees the “Iguana Woman”, and starts to describe the lizards. I personally have three lizards of my own. Every time I see a lizard I always want to just grab it like my own. Like Ferguson says “It was love at first sight”. That exactly how I feel. Then when she explains what her father told her about the lizard squirting blood towards it’s enemy to run away and then she realized that she herself was the enemy. That was so sad, I felt her sadness when she had to let the lizards she had kept in shoe boxes to be freed. I would be very sad too if I had to do that. We can see that she’s human and compassionate about what she does.
-Stephanie Cisneros
In Karr’s chapter about Voice, something that I really liked in this chapter is she says that “The trick to fashioning a deeper, truer voice involves understanding how you might misperceive as you go along; thus looking at things more than one way.” I believe this is really key to your writing, because you really need to think of your reader when you are deciding how to say what you want to say. The voice that you give is the voice they are going to hear when they read your writing, so voice is very important to the content of the story. She also talks about how building voice in your writing is like being able to hear something in your head, put it into words, and then someone else reads it and hears the same thing. Also when using voice in your writing you have to really think about the character or yourself. For example, if you're writing about something in the past in order for it to be true you need to think back on how you would have said things then, not now. Karr does a great job explaining this on page 47.
ReplyDeleteBy chapter 5 in Ferguson’s her movie is 100 percent complete in her head. I really enjoy the readings from Ferguson because she doesn't leave any detail out and she does a great job and using voice throughout her book so far. She does a great job and doing what Karr says to do about voice, for example on page 51 when she is hiking with Ventura. I like this paragraph because in my head I have a great idea of the confusion in her voice when she is asked to lay on the ground.
Jessica Young