“Exploring the Elements of a Good Memoir: Analysis of Bragg’s “All Over but the Shoutin’” and Fadiman’s “Under Water””

This week’s readings (Rick Bragg’s “All Over but the Shoutin’” and Anne Fadiman’s “Under Water” are examples of excellent memoirs that are rich with meaning, description, and detail. They’re intended to model the types of qualities readers expect in memoir and you’ll be working toward including: 1) a good story; 2) vivid details; and 3) clear significance. For this week’s discussion post, please respond to both readings (PDFs in Week 2 Learning Module). Please provide 50+ word thoughtful, substantive responses to each of the eight questions below by Thursday. Then by Sunday respond to two of your classmates’ postings, discussing what you agree with or disagree with from their postings. When agreeing with a classmate’s response, make sure to further support their claims by giving additional examples from the text. When disagreeing with classmates, make sure to do so in a constructive and polite tone, and also make sure to reference specific details from the text that suggest a different interpretation than theirs. (On Bragg’s “All Over but the Shoutin’””) What makes a memoir a “good story” in your opinion? In other words, what makes it interesting? Does Bragg’s essay accomplish this? Why or why not? The most powerful memoirs use vivid, concrete imagery that evoke one or more of the five senses. Where can you find an example of Bragg using a vivid image or description? What makes this image so vibrant or vivid to you? How would you describe the relationship between Bragg and his father? What gifts does his father give him during this encounter and what are the gifts’ significance in your opinion? What do Bragg and his father resolve? Is there closure? Paraphrase (put into your own words) the passage in which you believe Bragg explains the significance or meaning of the memoir and what this experience meant to him. (On Fadiman’s “Under Water”) Consider how Fadiman begins or starts her essay. Now that you’ve read it and know what the essay will cover and what she’s writing about, reread the essay’s opening or first paragraph again carefully. What’s the significance of this paragraph in your opinion? How does it foreshadow or hint at what will happen in the rest of the essay? What do you consider the main conflict or tension in Fadiman’s essay? Explain and consider providing examples. At the moment of crisis in the essay, the author thinks of an image from the Sistine Chapel and then describes her thought as “dishonorable.” What does she mean when she calls her action a “crime of inattention?” Where else do you see this kind of self-criticism in the essay? What passage or paragraph was the most vivid in your imagination or most engaged your five senses? What effect did that have on you and your reading? I look forward to hearing what you thought of these two memoirs!