PARIS ANTHOLOGY - autobiographies, memoirs

Question 1

What is a autobiography?

Answer 1

A first person biography telling the story of someone’s own life. Focuses on the person and their experienced. Often follows a chronological timeline and aims to be factual and truthful account (eg has to be fact checked before being published).

Question 2

What is a memoir?

Answer 2

A first person narrative focusing on specific events experienced by the writer, often electing a particular time or place. Aims to convey feelings and memories to the reader, and many not be fully accurate truthful, so has elements of fiction.

Question 3

What are some of the connotations of autobiographies and memoirs?

Answer 3

• Strong fellability
• Extensive use of the first person singular and plural pronouns.
• Register associated with the narrator - words, phrases, use of exaggeration, understatement, humour etc.
• Verbs of perception and modality - to frame the narrators character (eg arrogant, insightful, foolish, uncertain) and their view of people, places and events.
• References back through time marked by temporal deixis to personalise experiences and memories.
• Ability to step outside he narrator to evaluate narratives events.

Question 4

What are the autobiographical and memoir texts that are in the anthology?

Answer 4

Understanding chic
Breathless: An American Girl In Paris
Neither Here Nor There
Around The World In 80 Dates