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In chapter 6 Carnality Karr talks about the five senses and how they are important when you write your memoir. The smell, taste, touch, image and noise can help make your writing more effective. I finally feel like I enjoyed one of Karr’s chapters. I think she did a good job in explaining what she means when she talks about carnality. I enjoyed when she talked about her memories about her dad and the stories he would tell her. I agree when Karr mentioned in the reading about making strangers believe what’s “relieved with physical clarity”. I was worried about not remembering my important memories in my life, but I feel a little more at ease after reading this chapter. Karr mentioned that it’s okay if you fabricate some memories.
ReplyDeleteIn Fergusons Norogachic chapter I really enjoyed it as well. She describes the days and nights of filming in the sierra in Mexico. She gives really good details in the chapter. I really enjoyed how she talked about Hiram it felt as if she had a crush on him, but wouldn’t pursue because he was a married man. There was also humor, and like Karr’s chapter I felt Ferguson did a really good job using the five senses. She really did a good job describing to us and made us see the images she spoke of. On page 67 I really thought it was cool how she talks about the water they found that has algae. The just really enjoyed her descriptions in the chapter overall.
Lizette Garcia
In chapter 6, Sacred Carnality, I personally really like how Karr uses so many examples of different writers and how they are good and describing different things very specifically. To me most of the things she talks about in the chapter are based off of how you say them. So for example when she is talking about instead of saying “I tasted” you would say “I taste” because that's just a simple way to put the reader more in your shoes. Also in the beginning of the chapter she talks about how different people are going to be able to set a scene for you better than others. What I mean by that is people are better with certain senses, if someone is more visual they obviously are going to be able to describe a setting better than let's say someone who uses their sense of feel much more. I feel that in order to have a successful piece of literature you are going to have to intertwine all of your senses into your writing.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7, Norogachic, Ferguson describes the setting a lot and I feel that she is really good at giving you the right amount of information so you can really visualize the people and what she is surround by. I mostly notice that she just uses a lot of visual references to help you really be able to imagine you are there but I did notice there was some parts where she uses her sense of touch to describe some things for example, “When he glances back at me, it feels like a warm hand has just touched my head.” (58)
Jessica Young
In Ferguson she starts describing her journey through the sierra Madre. The whole time she’s very descriptive with what she sees and does. The people around them are described in full detail as well. At the beginning she has the problem of not knowing how to write her movie script. I think that we have all been in that position, not knowing how to give our writing a voice. Towards the middle she lost me a bit, I felt there was too much description at one point.
ReplyDeleteIn Karr’s book I agree that we must give our readers enough description and detail so they can almost feel what we felt at that moment that we’re describing. “The flashback seems triggered by smell, with “nasty meat connections” and “rot and burning”. This instantly, gives me the exact image and even smell to my head that I can know what is happening and also smell it. The smell of rot and burning just like if you were passing by a run over animal that’s been dead for at least two days gives off that smell. Its easy to understand the senses of what is happening. Page 77.
Stephanie Cisneros
In Karr’s chapter, she goes into detail about using the five senses like smell, taste, touch, etc. as well as giving examples from other authors. By doing this helps the readers like myself get a better understanding of what she’s trying to say. You want to use details when you’re describing the setting so the reader can feel like they are there with you. She also informs us about how when it comes memories, you may remember them more clearly than others. She mentions it briefly in page 74 “sense memories from these states may sometimes stay brighter in recollection than others.” I like the way she describes the people mentioned. For example, when she’s talking about her the boy she had a crush on she uses the sense of smell by saying “I can still smell his Juicy Fruit gum”.
ReplyDeleteIn Ferguson’s I like how she gives a description about Santiago’s “three culture” basically going on off about how he goes half a year to different places and what he does in those places. He’s been doing this for about thirty years. The way she describes her surroundings is great, it makes me feel like I was there with her and seeing what she was seeing and hearing. I like the way she compared the water going down her throat to a rocking chair. I just think the way she is so detailed makes me want to continue reading and because it’s interesting. She’s not over doing it with the descriptions they are brief enough for you understand.
Monika Gonzalez
Reading Karr’s chapter on Carnality, I was able to be extra mindful of how and when Ferguson applies them in Chapter 7. I’m not going to pretend I was aware of this aspect of characteristics in writing (carnality), so I was really interested in learning the different genres of details we can use in our own works. Having recently read Maya Angelou’s memoir, I reflected on parts in which she does use carnal in her memoir. On page 76 and 77, I really found her examples from Robert Graves and Michael Herr really useful in distinguishing the ways Carnal is and isn’t used. Her explanation each of the pieces helped me holistically understand how it’s used and the importance of making an effort to include it in your work. Ferguson uses carnal description in her memoir, maybe even more noticeable to me after reading Karr’s chapter. I particularly appreciated how it heightened the anticipation in the group finding water to the point where I was starting to feel thirsty. Homerun or Ferguson, I suppose. On page 117 (ibook), she says “When he glances back at me, it feels like a warm hand has just touched my head.” I liked the ways that she chose to approach and describe this. It validates the ways that she shapes this character prior to this point and the type of rapport they have established. On page 134, she describe the water they do find as “…murky, hot, stagnant water. We are overjoyed. Mostly it is a moss like algae filled with green water.” And as a onlooker, I am equally disgusted and pleased that they made this discovery. Two paragraphs later she says “I wipe fine bits of sand off my mouth…I can’t tell if it’s cool or hot water that hits the inside of my mouth – it burns for an instant then smooth.” I’m content that I can recreate this in my own ways writing and look forward to knowingly trying to achieve this.
ReplyDelete_Amanda Gonzales
Karr’s Chapter 6 on Carnality really inspired me, much like Ferguson was inspired in Chapter 7, to focus. The details are really what truly make the experience. It might be cliché to bring up, but details are what make up the big picture. When Karr reminisces her experience of spin the bottle, I felt like I was in her shoes. The intimacy of the situation translated perfectly onto the paper, especially after knowing that the boy approached her about it, decades later. The biggest idea of Carnality was to bring the REALITY of the situation to the reader, that way they can truly take away from your experience. I see the difference between prose that involve little detail, to those that mention just enough detail to make it realistic. The chapter fascinated me, and I am inspired to pay more attention and focus on the details of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteFerguson’s chapter was also more personal than the previous chapters I have read. For once, I can sense her emotions in her journey in Mexico. The way she tries to avoid the questioning of a husband, how she begins to develop (and resist) some sort of emotion for Hiram, and how she begins to lose hope when she realizes the reality of becoming dehydrated. The moments of despair really had me feeling anxious as I read along. I think Ferguson cleverly worded her experience well enough to bring the reality of her situation to the reader. I find this links to the section in Karr’s chapter of Carnality. I can see her vulnerable side and how she does fear of not making the rest of the journey. This chapter really brought the character out of her, along with the others mentioned. I enjoyed how the people and culture were captured onto the pages. It brought back memories of my time in Mexico as a younger girl. My mother always made sure I accompanied my aunt in the walk to the Mercado, it drew a parallel to Ferguson’s companion to the bakery.
-Damaris Cantu-
I really enjoyed Ferguson’s chapter a lot content-wise. It was just really interesting and kept my attention really well. I was a little thrown by Ferguson’s attraction to Hiram, because you don’t really expect for a person to just admit their feelings towards a married man. I found it interesting how we can apply the information we read from Karr’s chapter on “Carnality” to Ferguson’s chapter, as the way Ferguson writes makes it seem as if we are experiencing it as well. This goes especially for the scene where they are looking for water. For example: “We stand at the edge of a charco, a pond that is often dry, where it has blown out to its chalk edges. The inside of my mouth feels like chalk. IN the charco center, it looks like mud. With the suns reflection, it glistens.”
ReplyDeleteI found Karr’s chapter extremely interesting as well, because I have a difficult time with description myself. Her advice was extremely helpful, and I plan to put it to use in my memoir essay. One thing she said that specifically struck me as helpful was “Getting sophisticated about carnal writing means selecting sensual data – items, odors, sounds – to recount details based on their psychological effects on a reader. A great detail feels particular in a way that argues for its truth.” I had never really thought about it this way before, and I want to make a better effort at including details like this that will have a noticeable effect in my essay.
Ayesha Crutchfield
Karr's Ch. 6 on Sacred Carnality at fist had me thinking in the wrong direction. I soon came to find the concept quite appetizing as a reader, wanting more. It seem to me that Karr wants us to remember that we are human and when we are telling a story let us use that to our advantage to maximize our translation. I think that most can agree that writing is a form of art, but what separates writing from lets say painting. Well for one it's left,more often than not, up to interpretation. See with painting you create visuals and only stimulate the sight. I've now seen that we can awaken all with writing, you can add carnal elements to any type of writing. However with a memoir it is important to attract the reader with something that they can experience that you might have at that particular moment. As a writer you allow the reader to travel into your body. I find it reinforcing that we might not all be able to remember specific details such as Maya Angelou but we can be sure that our readers will be forgiving of such detail. Karr is right, I know I could careless if specific details were exact, the fact that it is specified matters more to me because it is defined. In other words I will not just tell about it, I will be about it. "He tells you he's sick but he doesn't occupy the sick body."
ReplyDeleteFerguson in Ch. 7 has me wondering about many thing, most importantly if they will find water. I find the connection of her hoping for water and her hoping for the right man to be unintended. Yet unless I ask her personally I will not know. I enjoyed this chapter very much, I laughed, worried, and yet felt hopeful all at the same time. Ferguson really brought me into her being with the carnality she added about herself and others. "He is a man with sweet smell of saddle oil and hair of lavender." When she speaks of Santiago she gives us his scent down to his hair. Another instance in where I felt a whole lot of human characteristics is when they come us to the dry red river where they hoped there'd be water. "Red lures, repels, frightens, warns, enrages." All these I felt, saw and even heard. I know that they weren't specific but they might of all happened at once that, that alone gave the explanation of them. I also liked how she tied in the gossiping of the women, how they see it as harmless do to but it can be extremely harmful, especially the way she ends the chapter.
-ELizabeth Diaz
In the chapter by Karr, “Sacred Carnality”, she mentions ways on how we can bring our characters into a more vivid image. She mentions how it is important to emphasize our feelings to the point where we can let the reader feel everything that is surrounding us. I think this is something helpful to us the writers because sometimes even if we think we might be adding “unnecessary details” at the end of the day, they are useful details because the reader did not live the same moment we did. Therefore, we need to be able to describe the moment we lived in, the most detailed as possible, but also not over load it. Overall there must be a balance of details to let the reader feel as if they were in that moment as well. Karr states how we the writers “must help the reader employ smell and taste and touch as well as image and noise”.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the chapter of “Norogachic” by Ferguson because she gives us an inside look of how people in other lands can be. I loved the fact that she emphasizes how the poor, even though they don’t have much, they will still offer outsiders whatever little they do have. That is a very valuable trait that everyone should have. There is a sentence in one of the paragraphs that we can see how Karr’s advice comes in act when she mentions, “you enter sunlight when you enter their house of canary-yellow walls”, Ferguson lets us envision how yellow that house may be.
-Celica Chavez
So, for a memoir, the use of the dreaded “show and tell” that several teachers and professors have warned us not to do is preferred. The fact we should bring our readers to our memories and have them experience every sound, taste, texture, and view provides the best of a memoir. It’s a little difficult to prevent “carnality” in fiction writing. I sometimes tend to show and tell, even though at most of the descriptions is the world I’m creating. Karr mentions the use of objects or “trigger items” could unravel our long forgotten memories of long ago. For example, years ago when I went to Tennessee, I used to see my aunt drive our red Jeep Grand Cherokee. I would remember the trips my family and I had taken on that very vehicle. The smug odor left behind by my Dad’s uniform after work, the roughness and thickness of the gray backseats, and the black rectangle rear view mirror where I would see my Dad’s young focus, sharp eyes. Stinks that my aunt gave it to someone and is somewhere in Mexico. Wish we kept the Jeep.
ReplyDeleteFerguson’s chapter 7 changes her journey away from Ventura towards Norogachic. Odd turn from being with Ventura to somewhere completely different. She starts to gather film clips for her documentary by looking at other locations where the Raramuri thrive. Pretty much a vast savannah with mesquite, dry land, and lack of water. I find her in much danger of being with men in her travels, mostly Hiram trying to subtlety hit on her. I wouldn’t trust anyone no matter where I’d be.
Hector Dimas
The more you show the better, in a way it lets the reader trust you. Carnality is something that is, in my opinion, a necessity for a memoir. You want the reader to go on that experience with you and that’s carnality. She brings up how “sensual data” brings up memories. When I eat tortillas or smell the maiz I go back to when I was in cross country in high school and would go on our running trails and how the floor would be sticky but not from mud. It was a weird green flaky texture that would crumble under your feet and leave a thick residue on the bottom of your shoe.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 7, by Ferguson, I really could feel how thirsty she was. I love the way she describes her situation. One could say she is very carnal with her writing. I found myself with my mouth dry when she was describing how she was choking on the water. Her sentence structures change a lot especially in this chapter. She goes from one sentence paragraphs to 3 word sentences. I feel that she does that to express her tone better and that is maybe her way of thinking. I know that when I am mad I don’t complain in long sentences, I’m short with my words and not ready to jump in to a conversation.
Jessica Guzman