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Truth is a topic that we keep coming back and forth too and Karr I think really hits it spot on in her chapter. She speaks about it quite passionately. Truth is crucial in a memoir; I think once you start making up things it becomes fiction. I really liked the quote “It’s the clear ones that matter most anyway, because they are the ones you’ve nursed and worried over and talked through and wondered about your whole life.” Here she is talking about memories and I liked the fact that she says the clearer memories are more important because you’ve kept them for a reason and it mattered to you. Those are the memories you want to write about in a memoir not something that you kind of remember. The little tips she gave at the end are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteIn Ferguson’s chapter and through the book she uses code switching a lot and it really adds to the authenticity of her memoir. We are actually going over the linguistics behind code switching and its functions and Ferguson uses it very correctly and appropriate. I found the top of pg 109 funny because of the way she describes the man’s voice and comparing it to the way Antonio Banderas would talk and there she goes again with her two-three worded sentences. I like that she includes pictures in her texts, it helps me take in what she is saying and gives me a better understanding of the chapters and what she is experiencing.
Jessica Guzman
It seems both easy and difficult to lie in a memoir. Easy because you can pick up an event or scene and bring out as broad or vague as possible, but difficult when it comes to adding details and dialogue. From Karr’s chapter 2 about the truth, again, it is only as much lived experience or recollections told from others put into paper. Certain memories are not as easy to pick up like it happened yesterday. There is a shift from nonfiction to fiction when it comes across telling the truth. And Karr also gives tips when the something is true and creditable that it must be handled with caution and care. My issue is which scene is best to stop and describe in total detail. It is slightly why I’m having trouble with developing my memoir. I would just keep pushing forward and not find certain moments as either less deserving of description or difficult to recall.
ReplyDeleteThe first feels of Ferguson’s book: Ventura succumbing to diabetes and passing away. This a long span from filming in Mexico and stopping in Tuscan, Arizona to finalize her film. It’s sad that Ventura found out himself that expectations of living in the city weren’t as glamorous and hopeful. A sense of regret lingered through small dialogue between Ferguson and Ventura, even if there was happy conversation. And as revealing the rough draft of the film, it happens to the best of us. Our best work isn’t the greatest and the criticism and suggestions sting us a little. At least she didn’t scrap the whole project, thanks to Sean’s motivation to keep working. What matters is that those that watched the film in Norogachic enjoyed it more than those back in Tucson. It’s a family film to the Raramuru’s and locals and it’s what makes it special.
Hector Dimas
On the chapter by Karr, we learn how the truth written in an essay is not always entirely true. As writers, sometimes we tend to vague in and out of memories. Karr states how it is OK to not remember something 100 percent. Because who ever does? We can remember bits and pieces of the memory, or at least the most important aspects of it, and from there we can assume the parts we don’t remember. Karr strongly suggest that we should stick to the truth no matter what. The emphasis she makes in lying makes me think twice when writing my memoir. She states how lying is much harder than telling the truth. I agree with her because, when you make up a lie, you constantly have to be thinking “ok what did I say the first time?” so it makes it hard for you to keep up with a lie. The part where she says that a story has many sides to it, and it’s true. Every story can be told in different points of view. Bottom line, we all lie, one way or another we lie or forge the truth of the story to a point where we can make it believable, Karr gives the example of “how many of us have our actual weights on our drivers’ licenses?”
ReplyDeleteIn the chapters by Ferguson, she shows us that a strong memory, or something that impacted our lives deeply, the memory will prolong no matter how much time has passed. Those moments that have impacted us thoroughly will replay in our minds over and over again and those fine details will never vanish. Therefore, as I am writing my memoir I try to dig deep into those moments in order to put in as much detail as I can.
-Celica Chavez
Karr says " As we've lost faith in old authorities, our confidence is objective truth has likewise eroded" (15). I thought this was a very interesting perception to have. It follows up a paragraph where she discusses publishing falsehoods, and condemning the mindset that would prohibit that can also, almost, gives the reader permission to recall "fuzzy form" details in writing memoirs. I particularly enjoyed McCarthy's apologies on pages 17-18. Her techniques to keep information accurate and still give the reader a sense of what the general dialogue or specifics were is a useful technique that a be mirrored by fir time memoir writers when we start second guessing ourselves, hit a rough patch, then our memory fails us. Karr's way of sharing the manuscripts of her work to friends and family is an excellent way to check your mindset at the point in time, this allows you to provide a more holistic account of events to your audience. In Ferguson's chapters, I pieced together the impact of Ventura's passing and how this amplified Ferguson's retention of details to retell this part of her life. She had already established Venture as a person of significance in previous chapters, not only because of the documentary, but from the emotional connection she made with him and his family. Ventura becomes a focal point in her story and life, and this seems to give her a sense of validation to put her doubts aside to finish her film for him. I enjoyed her details of her dream of Ventura and also how she ends the ends the first part of the book with "The only thing missing is the start of the show, my dear Ventura." Got me right in the feels.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Gonzales
Chapter 11-13 Venturas Home
ReplyDeleteFerguson again does a really good job in chapter 11. She gives a lot of details on how long this documentary has taken her many years to make. When she had the screening and none of the people she invited liked her film was pretty raw. How she mentions that they all left without any words being said and the food was untouched. She makes me feel like i'm there in that room and I feel her embarrassment. When she goes off to look for Ventura I wasn't expecting her to find him with one leg. It really shows how the years have passed and everything has changed. When she finds out Ventura has died that was really sad to read. I enjoyed this chapter because of all the images she shows in her reading.
In chapter 12 she goes on to screen the documentary to the people the film is about. I found it crazy how only two people had t.v and they had to borrow the mayor's tv. I liked how she talks about how they just stand there and they start to laugh and giggle when they appear on screen. Ventura was the only person missing, again this makes me sad.
In Chapter 13 I found it funny and entertaining talking about how she met Ojos.. On page 108 when he ask if she talks in spanish and she writes “ a leetle” I found that to be hilarious. She spells with the accents I think that was cool. That's what really stood out to me.
Karr’s chapter 2 Truth on page 24 she gives us tips and I really like how she says that we can change up names and make some of the small characters blurry. I had some trouble with it in my memoir I want to be honest but I also don't want to hurt the people I talk about in my memoir. Therefore I found those tips very helpful. Karr’s chapters are always a little obnoxious to me, but I see that it's just how her personality is. Where she talks about lying and no one has to know since it's not their business, I didn't really like how she comes off.
Lizette Garcia
In chapter two on page 24 on Karr’s book I liked the last part where she gives a list of “liberties” she has used to write her memoirs. A collection of memoirs writes about moments or events, both public or private, that took place in someones life. She writes about how a memoir can turn into a fictitious story. There is a very fine line between fiction and non-fiction when writing a memoir. According to Karr, bending the truth wasn’t always part of the autobiographer’s tool kit. That whatever errors we make in details when we write our memoirs the stories told remain “in spirit.” I liked the liberties or tips she gives for example, re-creating dialogue; “the conversation went something like this.” Changing names to protect others or blurring details of somebody appearance for sake of their privacy are other tips Karr gives us to better write our memoirs.
ReplyDeleteOn chapters 11-13 by Ferguson, tells how attached she had become with Ventura. His passing marked her so much that she describes in her memoir in detail. It is very important to her because he helped her a lot in the realization of the documentary film. She is grateful that the film is finally done after years in production and now that the film is done she is in the hunt for another project.
-Luis Rodriguez
In Ferguson’s book chapter 11-13, there are many things which I enjoyed. She goes into depth about the Belgian chef about the tradition/belief they do which they consider necessary. Which is” Belgians believe that a tasty morsel should be given to guests on all occasions”. As well as taking the time to go into detail about how much work it takes to make a documentary like editing and audio. I like how she incorporated the electricity for her reasoning as to why she wanted to show her film to the villagers at the church. I find it messed up how the politicians promise a better life but won’t help. They have free wires by the mayors and church but the reason why villagers don’t use it, is because they can’t afford it. I really enjoyed how she describes the man she met, she goes into detail about the night they met and then uses a memory she had a child to a situation that occurred.
ReplyDeleteIn Karr’s chapter, she explains how there isn’t any standards when it comes to telling the truth. There isn’t any worrying about having to reach certain standards or expectations to other authors. She also explains how it can be easy to make up lies rather than trying to remember the truth. However, those who do lie in their memoirs tend to not know who they truly are. I like how she gives examples about authors who have admitted to things in their books not being true. Found it helpful when she says that when something horrible happened in your life you want to remember to write about those times you had hope or courage. Because if you keep writing about the same thing it can get repetitive after a while and will lose the reader.
Monika Gonzalez
In chapter 2 of Mary Karr’s book, she discusses truth and I really like her opinion on it and how she describes it really made me think twice about what most people consider to be truth. I also likes how she turned it around to make a point that the truth isn't just for the reader it's to help the writer discover themselves. For example, “A memoirist forging false tales to support his more comfortable notions--or to pump himself up for audience-- never learns who he is. He’s missing the personal liberation that comes from the examined life.” (page 12) Writing the truth isn't always just the truth from your angle and your memory isn't always the best or most trustworthy. Her example about catshit in her sandwich was not only hilarious but also very accurate.
ReplyDeleteIn chapters 11-13, Ferguson continues to grow on me throw her descriptive writing and how in depth she goes about the people and her surroundings. While she describes Venturas house i felt as if I was there. Then when she describes the small pueblos that she filmed in that didn't even have electricity because the people couldn't afford it, honestly just blew my mind. How she talked about the wires and how they just hung there was an image that painted clearly in my head.
Jessica Young
Karr’s chapter was very interesting to read, because while she had addressed it very briefly in other chapters, she went very in depth in this one. I thought it was interesting because Karr really stressed the fact that truth in memoir is subjective to the memoirist, and that it’s important to make sure certain things aren’t stated as truth (like dialogue) when they could very well be untrue. I also liked how she said that truth is relative to the time when it is being written, like on 23 where she’s talking about her memoir The Liar’s Club. “Were I writing that story today, I’d be less generous to them while perhaps shining more empathy on my younger self.”
ReplyDeleteThese particular chapters of Ferguson’s really held my attention, and I just really enjoyed reading them. In each chapter, there was something that really caught my attention, like how in chapter 11 Ferguson struggles to arrange her film in a way that doesn’t seem like absolute trash (to her and her cohorts.) Chapter 12 really kind of just crushed my heart, because we spent so much of the earlier chapters of the memoir getting to know Ventura, that reading about his death, and the aftermath it has on Kathryn, really was just heartbreaking. Chapter 13 in itself was a little bit of a wild ride, because suddenly, Kathryn is dating a man named Valentin, and honestly the best part of this chapter (while not the parts that have a huge impact, like later on in the chapter) was the scene where Valentin and Kathryn meet.
Ayesha Crtchfield
This chapter by Karr emphasizes on the most crucial aspect of a memoir: the truth behind it. As English students, we are developing our abilities to use our memories and experiences as the fuel that powers our writing. This is not an easy task. Karr teaches us that sometimes an author will abuse their power and claim something as true or authentic when it is not. This is part of our nature as humans to want to lie or make something seem more appealing than the truth. There are instances where Karr suggests that not fully remembering something is acceptable because it would be impossible to retain each memory in full detail, but this does not mean we can re-write the truth of our memories. We must know the difference between reconstructing a memory out of genuine belief and fabricating something that has never happened in our lives. Knowing the difference is what will separate a believable, non-fiction memoir from being fictitious and fraudulent. Karr wants us as writers to stick to the truth always and emphasizes that lying is not the way to go. In the end, lying in our memoirs will be so much more difficult to uphold when trying to keep your story straight. It is also very easy to be caught in a lie, especially in this day and age. Anybody reading your work can find even on small lie and that could mean the end of your credibility as an author. Karr’s ultimate point is that humans will always lie or make something that isn’t true seem believable, but as aspiring writers it is our responsibility to remain above the lies and stay true to what we know, even if the truth is boring.
ReplyDeleteI really feel that Ferguson was able to express herself freely in chapters 11-13. From becoming overwhelmed and anxious from the potential disaster her documentary could have been, to learning about Ventura’s unfortunate death, these chapters represent moments in her life that really challenge her happiness. I grew close to the book and its characters, so Ventura’s death really had me feeling melancholy. Ferguson really knows how to tie the reader into her own emotions, which is why I especially enjoyed reading these chapters. I’m satisfied with how things rolled out for her and her documentary, and how she is able to keep her friends and Norogachic in her thoughts. I am not entirely sure what direction the book will take with the absence of the Sierra, nonetheless, I am still interested in reading the rest. As for introducing Valentin in chapter 13, I believe Ferguson will bring to light a new difficulty in her life: how the division between the love she has for the Mexican culture and her own culture will always be a challenge for her and her loved ones.
Damaris Cantu
Karr talks about something that we all as writers should remember when we are writing about our memories. We have spoken extensively about what it means to be truthful with a memory and how you let others know that or not know that. I understand that not all memories are possible to understand and remember as were, our memory is a collection of moments not full on events. I claim to have a great memory and remember lots of things but even then I struggle with remembering specific details other that the concrete memory. I agree with Karr that the truth should always be our only option when writing. I still do however second guess myself on some writing when I am fact checking. In the scene that emotions can not be fact checked but events and specific occurrences can. I understand that humans might lie regardless but out ultimate goal is to be stronger than that, we must prevail with truth and honesty. Not only for ourselves and our genuine writing but for that of our readers who value honesty and the vulnerability of truth.
ReplyDeleteFerguson had just created great anxiety for her readers with the struggle of creating her documentary. Now she has turned to another point that makes the reader anxious however, now we can compare these two moments for truth. Ferguson really let us ponder about Ventura's death and how she was affected. I having death so close to me understand this part of life but Ferguson had me feeling some type of way with her emotional ride. There is more the Ferguson has yet to let us experience and I admire her for that ability to keep us going and not drown us in complete sadness.
-Elizabeth Diaz
Discussion Leader.
ReplyDeleteJesus Garcia