Memoirs are Not Completely True Essay -- Memoir Literature

Memoirs are a Challenging Sources for Attaining the Truth Memoirs have become an increasingly popular genre of literature. In light of not only their popularity but their influence on the audiences who read them, it is important for readers to consider the various motivations and influences that shape the narrative and the details of these stories. This is especially true of memoirs that are intended to educate the public on the instances of human rights abuse, in situations when the general public may know little else about the subject. When such a book is published with the intention of informing the public and galvanizing support for human rights, the author may have even more of an obligation to stick to the facts than he or she would if the purpose of the book were solely entertainment. This concern will be of particular interest to the readers of the Dean’s Book selection for fall 2006, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, a memoir written by a North Korean defector with the intention of exposing the human rights abuse in the North Korean government’s systematic use of enforced hard labor camps on its people. This memoir and others like it are extremely effective in spreading awareness of human rights violations. At the same time, however, the reader must be aware of numerous factors that shape and complicate the story that is told. According to Kay Schaffer, author of â€Å"Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights,† there is a growing market in America for books marketed as memoirs. Writers such as Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and David Sedaris, author of numerous short story collections that are based on his life experiences, have helped propel the memoir genr... ...(Fall 2000): 543-559. 05 March U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. â€Å"Hidden Gulag, The: Exposing North Korea’s Prison Camps.† Ed. Richard Hawk. 2003. 16 Feb Walker, Barbara. â€Å"On Reading Soviet Memoirs: A History of the ‘Contemporaries’ Genre as an Institution of Russian Intelligentsia Culture from the 1790’s to the 1970’s.† Russian Review. 59.3 (July 2000): 327-352. 05 March Watson, Jinx Stapleton. â€Å"Reading Memoir to Make Sense of Sensitive Histories: Civil Rights Movement (USA), Apartheid South Africa & Cultural Revolution (China).† 22 Feb Wyatt, Edward. â€Å"Live on 'Oprah,' a Memoirist Is Kicked Out of the Book Club.† The New York Times. 27 January 2006: A1. 05 March com>