Memories There Are a Number

¶ … Memories

There are a number of admiral facets regarding memoir No. 2. The author did a highly credible, and realistic, job of depicting the streets and the sentiments that pervade the city of New York on its subway lines. The typical nonchalance of the fellow passengers, the sensory details regarding the smells and some of the sights on the train are excellent, and help to present a highly authentic portrayal of what life in the city is like for people transitioning between work, school, and their places of rest.

However, this memoir could have been improved if the author had taken the time to explain why the stranger she met on the train turned out to be special. The use of foreshadowing was highly effective in the initial reference to the stranger, which was accentuated with the italicized reference to "her" in the third paragraph of the memoir. However, other than the young woman conceivably attempting to romance the author, and stealing her wallet as a rather novel way of doing so, the reader is left wondering what it is about this person that makes her so noteworthy in this narrative. It very well could be that the author is attempting to build anticipation for some further anecdote or episode, but it is somewhat of a disappointment for readers not to understand why this young girl was so noteworthy in the author's life.

Like most works of fiction or non-fiction, the author's narration -- the thought process and perceptions of the character who is a teacher, is getting on to a subway train exhaustedly, is more compelling than the dialogue, particularly early on. However, by the end of this memoir, even the dialogue had increased in its ability to produce interest in the reader, which is an excellent sign of a writer with a degree of talent for this sort of thing.

The memoir entitled Chapter 4 Sandcastle was fairly well written. The author has a couple of grammatical issues with this piece, some of which detract from the clarity of the overall meaning. For instance, idiomatically speaking, the characterization of Brendan as "lengthy" is a little ambiguous; the reader is left wondering whether or not the author meant 'longwinded'. Some of the punctuation could have been better, such as the usage of a semicolon in a place in which a colon needed to denote that the author and Sandra both majored in psychology.

However, the most confusing aspect of this piece is the gender of the author. This memoir is unclear as to whether the author's relationship with Sandra is heterosexual or homosexual in nature, for the simple fact that the author's gender is never addressed. The reader can infer that it is a homosexual relationship, and that the author's relationship with Dan is a heterosexual one, but this assumption is merely an inference, which may be incorrect, and which the author could easily clear by simply stating the author's gender early on in the narrative.

Other than those ambiguities, however, the title (quite possibly a reference to the name of the author's new lover) is great and helps to underscore the degree of fascination that Sandra has induced in the author's imagination. Additionally, the ending, in which the author reveals the fact that this newly found infatuation with Sandra has only spanned three weeks -- which seems a lot longer simply based upon the intensity of the author's feelings and the progression of the relationship related in the narrative -- is a fairly surprising ending. Such an ending helps to define the impetuosity of the author's feelings, which appears to be the primary point of this memoir.

The memoir written by Malia Dawkins is fairly graphic. There are both positive and negative aspects of this degree of vividness and attention to detail. One of the beneficent effects of this descriptive language is that it is always quite clear as to what the author is detailing in this narrative. There is no room for ambiguity, and the points that are made in this narrative are extremely lucid. However, due to the graphic nature of many of the descriptions, readers may get a slight sense of revulsion or repulsion to some of the phrasing. References to boogers, snot, women's cavities, and other such extremely brusque language are terrific for expressing ideas, but may be just a little bit gross for some readers. Aside from a few simple grammatical errors (mostly omissions of words like pronouns or articles), the lone drawback to this document was the plethora of references to words and ideas that are unappetizing, to say the least.

The author's usage of metaphor within this paper should be applauded. The beginning of the memoir, in which Dawkins lists the preparations and ingredients for a recipe, is a novel approach and definitely makes for an attention-grabbing opener to a memoir. Additionally, when one pauses to consider the weight and eating problems the author incurred due to her loss of a romantic relationship, the motif of food with which the narration revolves around becomes particularly poignant. Love or romantic feelings have certainly been compared to food before. However, the author's ensuing weight disorder makes this comparison all the more timely within this particular written work.

The author has other instances of what can best be characterized as "good writing" within this paper, such as the usage of anaphora and a list of comparisons that are good contrasts, such as when she compares her ambition to Rodney's.

Quite easily, the best part of Via con Dios is the ending, and the poem/prayer which closes out this gripping, emotionally wrenching narrative. The truth of this poem, which the author refers to as "All of life is a preparation for standing alone," is quite evident and certainly poignant. More than that, the potency of this statement, and the ensuing lines that constitute the duration of the poem, are quite moving. It is no wonder that the author has not forgiven this literary work, nor invoked it at the close of this particular chapter in her memoir. This fact holds true not just because the author was given this poem by her father, who is now dead. But in closing out this chapter of her memoir with this poem, it becomes apparent that the author has fully realized the value of the words, and perhaps even taken them to heart. Unfortunately, most everyone will have to become acquainted with the premises within this poem.

What is even more significant about this poem and its effect on this chapter of the author's memoir is the fact that the concepts expressed within this work of literature are the very same concepts the author spent the duration of this chapter fighting against. "let no man hold you,'/nor assume you the life of any other." The author and her friends and family spent the greater portion of this chapter trying to hold onto her father, and assuming his life in alignment with theirs. Such a proclivity is completely understandable and highly natural as well. Yet the inclusion of the poem that these lines appear in "it will draw you from the heaven of your soul" is germane for the simple fact that the majority of the details within this memoir prove the accuracy of these lines. The author consistently refers to how difficult this time period was in her life, with a host of examples indicating this truth, and it was all because she was attempting to hold onto someone who was not her. This is quite a powerful memoir, and poem, indeed.

The first memoir, Above All, Family: A Family of Nine, in which chapter 1 "Fish out of water… New Fish in a Pond…" was pretty interesting. The author did a very good job of depicting the confusion that a non-native English speaker would experience at being thrust in a new school, in a new country. The reader can really feel the sense of despair felt when the author's sister left her alone, and when the former attempted to flee the school only to be trapped by the bars of the gate. Furthermore, the author did a fairly credible job of slowly displaying her signs of relief at first finding similar Spanish speakers, and then eventually finding comfort and ease in the new school.