Memoir: This Boy’s Life
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Memoir is a narrative that reveals experiences within the author's lifetime.
Memoirs are typically less formal, less encompassing, less obsessed with factual
events
Memoirs center their primary focus around a mood or attitude toward a particular
section of one's life.
Memoir provides a much more specific timeline and a much more intimate
relationship to the writer's own memories, feelings and emotions.
Memoir is not just about what exactly happened in the past, but rather how it
made you feel, and perhaps more importantly, how it makes you feel now.
As you read the excerpt: divide your paper into three columns. 1. In the first column, write literal questions you have about the text. These are questions that help you understand the writing, the story, the characters, and the language/vocabulary. 2. In the second column, record ideas about how this story fits the definition of memoir. Include: • What is the mood or attitude in this story? • Why is this an important story from the writer’s life? • Also include important details about characters • What is the theme? What is the meaning of the story? What is its significance? 3. In the third column, record connections to your own life and personal experiences. What does this remind you of? What similarities are there between this story and your own experiences? This material will be used to write questions for a class discussion later in the week. Background info: Tobias Wolff and his mother have recently moved from Seattle to Concrete, WA where his mother married Dwight, who is cruel and unfair to Jack. (Tobias, “Toby”, has changed his name to “Jack”.) Dwight forced Jack to shell pounds and pounds of chestnuts, which turned his hands yellow, and recently found Jack a paper route. Jack and his mother live with Dwight and his three children.