Lesson 4.1D: Memoirs - Everyone is a Story
When you hear the word "story," you usually think of stories of the imagination, or fiction. However, non-fiction stories, or true to life stories, can be just as interesting and entertaining. In fact, think of all the movies that you have seen that open with the enticing statement, "based on a true story." The movie will seem even more exciting, knowing that someone really went through it.And in the world of books, a memoir, or a story about part of someone's life, is captivating more and more readers for the same reason. Someone really lived the story that you are reading! Memoirs are a type of autobiography that focus on one part of a person's life, whereas an autobiography describes the author's story from birth to present.
In this lesson, you will read two first-person texts and compare and contrast the voice of each.
Diverse Voices
Every piece of writing has an overall tone, or feeling, expressed in its words and ideas. In a memoir, the attitude of the narrator is usually referred to as the voice of the story. For example, in a memoir about coming back from drug addiction, the author may be said to have the voice of a survivor, and that the overall tone is one of success. A memoir of a soldier about the atrocities of war, may have quite a serious and mournful tone and voice. Further, a comic narrative about the hazards of learning to drive a car may evoke a humorous tone and voice.
Voices and attitudes will vary across cultures and experiences. You will be reading two stories from very similar cultures, but with very different experiences and different voices to share.
 The Art of Comparing Voices
Apples and oranges - it's often said that you can't fairly compare them. But we do. Apples are hard and crunchy; oranges are softer and chewy. Both are juicy and sweet. Some people prefer oranges, and some would rather have an apple. These points of comparison are all reasonable and easy to come by.
But when it comes to comparing literature - stories, poems, essays - the art of comparing becomes more of a challenge. Some parts of a story may be easier to compare, such as character, setting, and plot, whereas other elements, such as voice, may be more difficult. In this section you will be asked to look at two short memoirs, so you need to be prepared to compare all the elements of a story!
We will start by comparing some of the more basics aspects of each story, and then work up to comparing the voices. First, you need to take a close look at each of the stories that you are going to compare.
 Read the 2 short pieces, "Keeper 'n Me" on page 279, and "A Secret Lost in the Water" on page 104 of Sightlines 10 textbook. Read with a pencil in your hand, and underline any words or phrases that you think are important or interesting (erase these marks before you return your textbook).
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Summary
Completing this lesson has helped you to:
- define fiction and non-fiction
- understand what a memoir is
- organize and prepare to write a comparison
- compare a story and a memoir
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