Evan's ASTU Blog

When academic or scholarly conversation turns to life narratives, one cannot navigate the conversation from arguably the most influential (and definitely the most famous) life narrative of all time. ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ is the story of a young girl who, through traumatic witnessing, describes the story of being pursued by Nazis during the Dutch takeover of The Netherlands.

Amazon summarises the book as follows: “In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.”

However, one must ask the question, ‘WHY is this the most well known and influential life narrative?’ One must only look at the patterns of consumption of life narratives. Life narratives of trauma are vividly consumed by audiences striving to live vicariously through the experiences of others. Anne Frank’s work (more of a diary) is the most extreme of these cases. Taking place during the most pivotal time period in the twenty first century causes the novel to carry the reader back into the past; and walking in Anne Frank’s shoes.

Many life narratives are written due to people’s natural exhibitionism, but Anne Frank was not aware that her work was going to be published. The work is candid, and a verifiable window into the soul and story of a young girl swept away and robbed of her youth. The vast majority of those able to read the work would not have gone through anything even near what Anne Frank went through. This feeling of guilt and fascination may have propelled the immense readership communities of this book.

Another aspect that can be examined is the value of this work as compared to it’s contemporary counterparts.Other notable works from the period that are in autobiographical forms are Beyond Band of Brothers or similar stories. Most of them are by soldiers, encompassing a completely different (albeit important) part of the Second World War experience. The childhood perspective (genuine seeing as it is not written with retrospect) and the completely different view from those fighting in the battlefields make the work more relatable to readers. Although one may empathise with the soldiers who fought and died in the trenches and in the great battles of the Pacific, Africa, and Europe; in the end of the day a story about a young girl hiding from forces beyond her control will hit closer to home in the average household of the developed world.

There is no doubt in my mind that the work will continue to hold a great significance in world literature; and that it will be an everlasting glimpse into one of the world most shaping and influential events for years to come.

Growing up, one does not usually wish to read the books assigned to them in classes. The texts describing vague historical events do not tend to illuminate the mind of the average young boy and girl. Personally, growing up the books I sought to read were the life narratives of my heroes: sports figures & those in the inside loop. But are these life narratives a legitimate sub-genre? Are they even worth a read?

The debate as to wether life narratives of sports personalities are purely ‘trashy’ fiction to be read by the masses, or valuable insights into some of the most recognisable faces on this planet can be easily debated.

Paolo Di Canio, for those who are not supporters of football (soccer, futbol, as you will), Canio is an outspoken Italian sports personality who never fails to make headlines with his antics. His life narrative is a truly amazing insight to this man of outrageous temper and Italian flair His younger days of partying before training and the explanations for his actions immerse the reader in the world of a world superstar.

The opposite however, can be said for the life narrative of  several other ‘authors’. Many life narratives of sport have put me into a lull, and seem to drag on. This is when the debate as to wether life narratives of these (clearly non-qualified) authors are even worth a read. It is true that they offer little humanitarian, economic, or social influence, but are merely stories. It is also true that many may read said narratives solely to hear the ‘dirt’ dished out by the authors.

However, one must also consider the fact that these narratives are escapes. As a kid I wanted to read about my heroes and how they felt the butterflies in their stomaches before the final, or how they spent hours after training learning to take the perfect free kick.

My favourite life narrative of sport does not, however, come from a superstar. It does not come from an agent, an owner or a coach. It comes from the kit-man of my favourite soccer team Tottenham Hotspur. In Shirts, Shorts and Spurs ,Roy Reyland  details how the players that I grew up watching cried, screamed, and celebrated together. It details how Muslim players used to pray in his small and cramped kit room during Ramadan to avoid the wandering eyes of the press.

Considering this, I must argue that anyone is qualified to to write a life narrative. Even though the focus of this blog post is on life narratives of sports figures, it makes you realize that anyone with a story worth being told can create a captivating piece of work. Anne Frank was not a trained writer, yet her story (albeit diary entries) continue to shock the world today.

As a fourteen year old me spent all night reading about how soccer legends had sat in silence as the stadium roared around them before the big cup final, I was entranced. Sports life narratives are indeed a legitimate sub-genre and do in fact have value. Even though many may consider them not worth the time, these life narratives are clearly some of the entertaining pieces of life narratives.

“Yes we have banned Malala’s book because it carries the content which is against our country’s ideology and Islamic values,” Kashif Mirza, chief of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.”

– NBC News Article – (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/10/21393909-pakistani-private-schools-ban-malala-yousafzai-autobiography?lite)

The thought of such a figure having her story censored and unavailable in her own country is something that may come as a surprise to many. Nevertheless, Pakistani private schools have banned Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography I am Malala due to beliefs dominant in the local culture. The debate as to wether this is a wise decision is one that can easily be argued equally as strong from both angles.

One may argue that this censoring is a violation of the personal rights of students in Pakistan. The argument that students should be able to read this novel in an academic setting has valid reasoning. The book pertains to social, feminist, and religious problems that are currently plaguing the nation. One can easily argue as Kashif Mirza (Head of Pakistani Private Schools) did: “Through this book, she became a tool in the hands of the Western powers.” Although this may seem slightly paranoid or the result of a conspiracy theory, the book is published and distributed by Hachette Book Group, a company based out of France.

The opposite view that may be taken is that the officials in charge reserve the right to ban this book. Cultural sensitivity is a value that is becoming ever more important into a world of increased globalisation. The right of the Pakistani Public School board to follow the religious practices and values is something that must be respected to some level. Even if one were to disagree with the policy, one must certainly agree with the right to religious freedom. However, banning a book straddles the line of religious freedom and religious oppression.

Censoring life narratives is something that is not new. Whether for reasons that most can agree on (Mein Kampf in Germany) or one that can be hotly contested (The 1884 banning of Huckleberry Finn). In a country of increasing social change and conflict, the banning of Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography is something that will create a further divide. Liberals and conservatives are supplied with another tool in their arsenal of arguments. It is easy to dismiss the banning of the book as ‘another country censoring their citizens’, but one must look at the other view; that in banning this book the religious traditions of Pakistan were, in fact, upheld.

In the book description on Amazon (I am Malala on Amazon.com), the book is described: “I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world.” However, what happens when this one person’s voice is silenced, and ceases to inspire change in her own nation?

World War II was a world shaping event that forever changed the aspect of not only literature, but all things global in nature. Shaffer and Smith examine the life narratives of trauma (and their effect and causation) in ‘Conjunctions: Life narratives in the field of Human Rights’. Literature (in particular life narratives) gained considerable movement with the end of the War. A ‘kairos’ of sorts allowed the consumption of life narratives to take place. The free time afforded to affluent post war populations and the abundance of life narratives in circulation culminated in the perfect mix for consumption.

In particular, Holocaust narratives were very apparent in this Post War climate. Events such as the Eichmann trial created a “transnational identity” (Shaffer and Smith 8). With this, people began to consume these life narratives more viciously. An example that one can never shun is the Anne Frank Diaries which are now such a big part of culture around the world that Anne Frank is now a household names. People were, and still are, fascinated with her story. The thought that people may not have had a thirst for these type of life narratives in the past can be hard to believe in todays age of voyeurism and public exhibitionism. However, the Post-War culture allowed for this to become a part of our Western Culture.

From there, this thirst for life narratives and other people’s stories took off. One need only go visit and online book realtor or the local book store to see the latest life narratives. Presidents, religious figures, and celebrities alike all have life narratives than line the walls of said establishments. Barack Obama’s life narrative can sit next to that of the Dalai Lama or that of David Beckham. This would never have been possible without the aforementioned Post-War culture that was developed.

As a culture, we must give thanks to our former generations for spurring on this need/want for knowledge of other people. Although one can easily get caught up in life narratives that have no intellectual value (Kim Kardashian for example!), there are an equal amount of truly riveting life narratives to balance out the scale. Winston Churchill’s childhood stories give an amazing insight into the character known around the world today. The story of Barack Obama’s childhood (and the fact that he WAS in fact born in the United States) are intellectually stimulating and give us more amazing insights.

None of this would have been possible without what Shaffer and Smith call the “remembering” (Shaffer and Smith 9) that picked up force in the Post War period.