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In the chapter by Karr, she lets us see how we as writers can write about any person we want as long as we keep it realistic and try to get as much accurate information as possible. She tells us how she usually relies on her mother to help her remember when certain events occurred. This is helpful because if we want to include family members in our memoir, we should be able to know as many facts as we possibly can in order to stay away from offending anybody. It is also important to let your characters know that they will be included in your memoir so it won’t catch them off guard. I like how she said “you can’t sign up to play football then whine you’ve been hit” it is the same way as when writing a memoir, you can’t write something and expect people not to ask any questions. Nonetheless we need to be prepared with some answers.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapters by Ferguson she gives us an inside of how her relationship has been developing with Valentin. She also lets us see how she feels towards the immigration issue. She finds it hard to believe that such drastic measures are being taken place here in the U.S. And I know how she feels in regards to Ventura, she mentions how “It seems to take death a long time to find its rightful place in a person’s mind” I can identify myself with this line because we have had a great loss in my family, and even though it has been four years, the pain and memories still linger in my mind as if it were the very first day of when it happened.
-Celica Chavez
In Fergusons book, she goes from writing about the border where she lives to wanting to write about Rita. It’s a complete transition. After Rita she ends up finding interest on how people cross other borders around the world. It is not only there in Arizona where people die and never make it to the news. She travels to Berlin and then comes home to Valentin finding her parents’ graves. All this time she had felt something missing and when she gets to the graves she realizes, that she has found what had been missing in her life all along. Her parents graves becomes a big thing for her and decides that she has found home and that’s where she wants to be.
ReplyDeleteKarr in her chapter explains how to write about people and how to go about with it the “right way”. In part I agree on pg 120 she explains that if you’re going to include someone in your writing you should let them know. Especially if you end up getting published, no one wants to end up reading about themselves in a book that the whole world has read. Giving a heads up is always good, also even if you have to write about someone you hate do it with love. Don’t make it all hate. I like a quote that Karr added “if I’d known both my boys were going to be writers, I might have lived a little differently”. I’m sure if I had become a writer my mom would of had said the same thing, but then I wouldn’t have such great stories to write about.
Stephane Cisneros
In Karr’s chapter she brings up the issues that people have had when writing about their families. We need to be careful when writing about families, I really did not think to do that. Something that always comes up is the idea of being truthful with our selves when writing but now we have the notion of being true with the characters that we bring into our writing. Well that’s what came to my mind when reading the chapter. If we make up something about one of the characters in the piece we could change the dynamic of the story. Especially when writing something like a non-fiction piece or a memoir. I like how she talks about the support that she gets from her mom and the tips she leaves at the end of the chapter.
ReplyDeleteFerguson gets me mad sometimes because of what happens, she was going to meet up with a friend and she gets deported. She talks about deportation and what could happen in a real and raw way. That is one of the things that I really enjoy about reading the chapters from Ferguson’s memoir. She is real and raw, she does not shy away from talking about the realities that she and the people surrounding her experience. That as a reader helps me trust her as a writer. I like how she’s going between genres with her documentary. I like the dialog that she includes at the end when she is talking to Valentin, and how she shares her emotions with us as she goes back to visit her parents graves after twenty some years of not visiting them.
Jessica Guzman
This is my response
ReplyDeleteKarr literally read my mind in this chapter “Dealing with a Beloveds”. A lot of what Karr talks about in chapter I can relate to. I was scared when it came to writing our memoir. I felt like I was being sneaky when I started writing my memoir. I think Karr makes really good points when she says just tell your family what you’re writing about especially if it’s about them. When I wrote my memoir I literally shredded by first draft, and I hide my laptop so no one can get access to my work. I told some of my family members that I talk about in my memoir hints here and there about what I am working on, but I can’t seem to get myself to flat at tell them. After reading everything Karr has gone through with family and friends who have turned their backs on her, it makes it even scarier to me. In my culture Mexicans don’t do this to each other, my father would probably kill me (not literally). To our family you don’t rat out on each other and tell strangers our business. I still found the chapter useful especially the tips she gives us on pages 120-121.
Feguson is still on this whole illegal immigrants and deportations subject. I do like how she gives us a lot of realness to her descriptions, and she doesn’t really hold back on things that are on her mind. She says it how it is, what many people don’t have the guts to talk about. On page 142 for example paragraph two “please don’t hurt him. A uniformed man laughs and says, Pliz don’t hoort heem”. This really got to me because I know for a fact it happens. This keeps making her chapters intriguing to me. The details and the language being used really captures the image for me. In chapter 17 she talks a lot about Rita’s story and in my opinion it gets a little boring at times. Like I get that she got attached to Mexico and the people, and her documentaries, but I want to know something different. I want to know more other than her documentaries and ideas.
Lizette Garcia
Karr’s chapter was extremely informative because I feel that since we are all focused on our memoirs being truthful to what we know, we might not really be taking into full consideration the people that are being featured in our memoirs. I know that I haven’t, but I also haven’t been writing anything that anybody featured in my memoir may find offensive, so I guess I assumed that it was okay to just carry on writing. I really liked Karr’s comment on how if her subject didn’t like what was written about them, she would just scrap it, because it shows that even though you don’t have that specific scene, your memoir can still be made without it (unless it’s a totally pivotal part of your memoir, then, you’re stuck.)
ReplyDeleteThe mood in Ferguson’s chapters has completely shifted from that of the first part of the memoir. It’s taken on a much more serious tone, and it has shifted onto a completely serious topic. While the way she approaches immigration is good, what I really like is how she implies (I can’t find any place where she states this) that she will not ever completely understand what they’re going through. Because even though she sees the situation and kind of experiences it through the people around her, she won’t ever know the fear of possibly being deported like how Valentin feels it. I just thought it was extremely important for Ferguson to address this, because no matter how much someone might have felt sympathetic towards immigrants situations, they (as well as myself) will never actually know the fear.
Ayesha Crutchfield
In chapter 12 “Dealing with a Beloved” by Karr, she writes how she had to deals with her family when she wrote her memoir. On page 114 she talks about how she kept phoning her mother and sister to warn them about possible public scrutiny. Very difficult indeed when you write about others especially your family. They criticize and start to see you as an enemy. As a writer one as to be very careful what we write. When one writes about someone Karr has some tips or rules on page 120 that a writer can follow. For example, Notify subject way in advance, don’t show pages mid process or never speak with authority about how people feel… I like Hubert Shelby’s quote “If you’re writing about somebody you hate, do it with great love.”
ReplyDeleteIn Ferguson's book, chapters 16 and 17 she continues to talk about the border issues. She seems very interested in the border topic the way immigrants are deported. Every moment she documents tells in great detail, incident like what happened to Valentin, Susana or Rita. I feel she describes each character with such sorrow. This makes us envision not only the characters but the situation. With every detail she writes in the book it is a piece we collect on our mines to makes us feel we are there. All those details she has given so far makes us believe every word in every chapter. I wonder what will happen with her feature film documentary.
-Luis Rodriguez
Chapter 12 of Karr’s novel is about providing insight on how to handle your beloveds when writing a memoir. The chapter begins with Karr detailing how writers deal with this subject and how one writer’s method may differ drastically than another’s. This, to me, stands out because I believe that when writing a memoir, the author must make it obvious that their point of view is wholly subjective; in the chapter Karr points out that this applies to the way we deal with family and friends as well. Much of the chapter is about Karr’s own experience with her mother and sister and how she referred to them for judgement on the content of her memoir and fact checking as well. While reading about Karr’s experience is entertaining as well as it is informative, I found it hard to relate to her story because of how radical and extroverted her family is: “Lucky is the memoirist like me, blessed with a wild-ass mother.” Growing up in a strict Christian household, I would never imagine myself in that position, as lucky as it seems. Karr’s 11 rules for dealing with others, found at the very end, are the real stars of this chapter. Chronicling topics such as death, writing about someone you hate, and letting friends choose their own pseudonyms, these 11 rules are going to be a great asset to reference to when writing my own memoir. Although my life isn’t as crazy or remarkable as Karr’s, as a fellow writer I share her feelings of not wanting to offend any of my family or friends with my memoir.
ReplyDeleteIn chapters 16 & 17 of Ferguson’s book, she tries to find a new muse to relieve the stresses she feels from the unjust treatment of migrants. I feel that she is always trying to make things right, and although her intentions are well, sometimes she leads herself to believe that she holds more power than she thinks. Instead of giving up, she brings the justice to the cause by raising awareness and telling the stories of those who have been victims to the system, despite their tremendous efforts for better living. This is where Rita comes into play. Her story is heart-wrenching and horrific to think about. I like that she still has the support of her associate, Giulio, and can channel her energy onto a new project. She is passionate about humanity, and I think that is something very admirable about her. The whole deportation subject is very touchy for her, especially with the sudden absence of Susana. I like that she includes Valentin’s perspective. Sometimes she puts herself into situations where things can get tricky, and I’m sure he is aware of the consequences. I think Ferguson broadening her perspective all the way to Berlin is a premature act and opens up a can of worms for her. There is too much of injustices going on around the world and she truly cannot help EVERYONE. She admits it, she’s a tourist, and I think in order for her to be successful, she needs to take things one step at a time, and stay grounded to her project and her acquaintances.
Damaris Cantu
ReplyDeleteKarr had some really useful advice. I particularly liked the part in which she says she doesn't write about people she doesn't like (113). Also, paragraphs later, her input on how her son reacted to her memoirs was really interesting. Her position was very openminded and I liked the way she was very much aware of how the people close to her would react to her readings and how she didn't purposely impose her stories on them. It developed into a more interesting section of the chapter when she talks about her mom and sister discussing when she shot her father, and Larry (115) Also, how she uses her family to help fact check events and places/events in her memoirs. I found the information in her chapter very useful and insightful. I was worried about how I was going to use my voice to reflect my family in my writing. This made me feel more content about doing that. Ferguson's unapologetic approach is one of my favorite developments of the story. She lays down her views on the deportation process that shows a humanistic perspective as well as her own struggle with becoming aware of the legalities of US laws. Her choice of language, and her focus provide a reader without first-hand knowledge of the process. I myself, that has lived my entire life 30 minutes from the US/Mexican border, have been blissfully ignorant of the ways so many lose their lives for a purist of a better life. Her chapters were very humbling as I found myself further sympathizing with Rita and was empathetic to what Ferguson chose to show us.
-Amanda Gonzales
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ReplyDeleteIn Karrs chapter 12, I found her advice extremely useful and a lot of her experiences about the difference between male and female memoirists very interesting. I really liked the quote by Geoffrey Wolff on page 112, because writing about people you love I find it very difficult because you want people to see them how you see them for what they truly are. But if that gets taken the wrong way or they come off as something you don't want it would be extremely disappointing. I also like how she makes it so important to tell someone they are going to be apart of your writing. She says to do it way in advance, also she says to not let anyone read it until you're done writing then first send it to the people you wrote about. I really like that she is so close with her family and her writing. I know that when I am writing a piece the first thing I do is call my mom and tell her about it. She also reads over a lot of my work and gives feedback.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 16 of Ferguson’s book the first paragraph was great because she took something that you know she was disturbed by or I guess bugged by and sort of tried to make it funny or a joke. Which is a good way to show how some people handle things. I also found it really funny when she talked about mexican time because I had no idea that was a thing until I moved here. In chapter 17 I love the way she describes Kansas because my mom is from there and that's like another home. So the picture I painted in my head from her descriptions was perfect, it looks just like I remembered it.
Jessica Young
In Karr’s chapter, she describes how gender makes a difference when it comes to memoirists. Women can’t write in the way a man would write. On page 111 she say’s “But for a woman to kick her mother’s ass is unseemly”. There are somethings that if a woman were to write it could come out offensive or just sound wrong “not ladylike” I suppose. However, if a man were to write something productive then it would be okay because “that how men are” which in my opinion isn’t right. When she talks about the three parts in how she handles what she writes about her family is good. I think she tried out different things like she lets them know ahead of time or doesn’t and just waits until she’s finished with the book.
ReplyDeleteIn Ferguson’s I found it funny where she mentions not to clean when you get a divorce. I can imagine her or any other women who is going through a divorce cleaning like crazy let out her anger. I didn’t like how the people whose job is to deport illegal induvial would treat those people. They treated them like they weren’t human beings just because they couldn’t speak English. The way she describes what that person has to go through how they go banging at the door in the middle of the night is heartbreaking. You definitely get loaded with emotions like anger and sadness. As you continue reading she goes into more details about what happens when deported and the more you read the more anger you have towards them for being so cruel. I liked how she gave history about “cowboys” how they originally were before they are now. One thing that kind of bothers me is that throughout her book when she travels there is always that one person who tells her “The more men, the safer”. Why is having men with you so important I understand the danger it could be but what if those men you’re with are weak and aren’t capable of protecting you?
Monika Gonzalez
Discussion Leader.
ReplyDeleteJesus Garcia