Contemporary Literature

After today’s class discussion regarding history and memory in Art Spiegelman’s Maus, I was inspired to further my search of academic articles relating to life narratives and how auto/biographies may contribute to the retrieval and revival of memory. Subsequently, as opposed to disregarding the life narrative as too personal or subjective (and thus unreliable), auto/biographies provide an alternative view of history that allows for the reader to better understand subject matter that may have previously been seen as irrepresentable. Although Young writes of “deep memory” as something that may be wholly inarticulable (667) in his essay “The Holocaust as Vicarious Past: Art Spiegelman’s Maus and the Afterimages of History,” the writing and sharing of one’s own traumatic historiography may aid in helping to expose suppressed and displaced memories. With that being said, auto/biographies have the power to connect the writer and reader in a mutually beneficial bond of sorts – revealing history that truly ought to be acknowledged. I strongly recommend the following articles if this subject poses as any interest to you!

In this text, Tony Adams discusses the ethical values of narratives and the effective power that narratives possess. Adams outlines the fundamental notion of the narrative being used as tool to connect the writer to the readers who, as a result, are able to draw a deeper understanding from the personal/historical lesson which they may adhere to. A parallel is thus created between reader and writer; especially since the life narrative additionally poses as a form of therapy to the writer as they relay their traumatic experiences. This source aided in my understanding of how the life narrative is able to personally affect the reader whilst giving the writer a method of emotional release and liberation.

Here, Connell et al. take into consideration the transfer of knowledge of the narrative, and how the narrative may be interpreted by the readers. Special attention is paid to how changes and exaggerations may occur in the content of the auto/biography, and how this affects the readers’ perception(s) on the subject matter. Media suasion is additionally very powerful because of how information may be construed to the public. This article contains valuable information concerning historical accuracy and the exposition of facts, and whether this exposition is truly objective or not.

This particular text focuses on the moral values which are transmitted to the reader through the writers’ work, and how the auto/biography conveys social knowledge. This social knowledge helps to break predetermined ideas through rectification by use of personal discourse and firsthand accounts. Tacit, or implicit, knowledge is further deliberated – as it can be shared, demonstrated, and ultimately absorbed by the reader to be rightfully understood. This text establishes the truth of historical events through eyewitness events, and contains the additional subject of the tacit factor of the narrative.

Citations

Young, James E. ““The Holocaust as Vicarious Past: Art Spiegelman’s Maus and the Afterimages of History.” Critical Inquiry 24.3 (1998): 666-699. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.