Unit 6:
Believe Me, I Would Know:
Arguing from Personal Experience
Reading #1:
“The Price We Pay,” Adam Mayblum
“The First Hours,” Tim Townsend
Reading #1:
Different from Unit #1, Arguing with Factual
Information, Unit #6 readings are personal
narratives, which open themselves up to
criticism because of authorial bias,
misinformation, and the natural flaws of human
memory.
So let’s begin with the facts of 9/11.
Timeline of 9/11 Attacks: History Channel
Discussion:
(1) How does the distance (time) affect the
way in which a personal narrative is written:
its validity (logos), authorial voice and bias
(ethos), its emotions (pathos)?
Mayblum’s article is a 2,100 word email
sent on 9/12/2001.
Townsend’s article was published in
Rolling Stone on 10/25/2001.
Discussion:
(2) Both writers want to come to terms with
how they acted under duress:
a. How does Mayblum seem determined
to convey the heroism he observed that
morning?
b. How does Townsend contrast this
with his ambivalence, his matter-of-fact
style, his absence of emotion?
Discussion:
(3) Let’s examine the ending of each piece:
a. Mayblum’s paragraph 12
b. Townsend’s paragraph 16
If we are looking at arguing from personal
experience, what is it that they are arguing?
Reading #2:
“Hiroshima Diary,” Michihiko Hachiya
Reading #2:
So let’s begin with our visceral reactions to the
text and then to the video.
Bombing_Effects_Video
Discussion:
(1) Structure: Let’s examine the
arrangement of the events/anecdotes in
Hachiya’s diary by beginning with where it
ends (his theory as to what had happened)
and tracing how the author arrives at this
point.
Discussion:
(2) Voice / Authorial Bias: Even though
these are personal narratives, the events in
the works are true and debating their
authenticity is a moot point. These things
happened. However, is Hachiya able to
withhold judgment? Does his matter of
fact language belie his panic?
Reading #3:
“The Lottery,” Chris Abani
Discussion:
(1) The Title. It’s what we are all
wondering: Why do you think Abani titled
his essay “The Lottery”? What connection
do you think Abani wants his readers to
see between the idea of a lottery and the
central event of the essay?
Discussion:
(2) What is the importance of Abani’s fifth
paragraph? How does it affect your
understanding of the essay? Suppose that
paragraph had not been included in the
essay, what would you then make of the
story? Do you think it should have been
placed at the end?
Discussion:
(3) Think like a Marsh final exam: How does
this relate to Langston Hughes’
“Salvation”?
Reading #4:
“In the Combat Zone,” Leslie Marmon
Silko
Discussion:
(1) Silko explains that men do not
understand the fears women have in being
alone after dark (and sometimes in
daylight), describing life as living in a
combat zone. Is there truth to her
assertion?
Discussion:
(2) Let’s dissect her structure, which is
composed of a series of anecdotes leading
to her point: “Only women can put a stop
to the ‘open season’ on women by
strangers . . . We must destroy the myth
that women are born to be easy targets”
(paragraphs 24-25).
Discussion:
(3) Silko weaves a political argument with
her cultural history as a Laguna Pueblo
Native American and the cultural
expectations of women in America. Where
do we see
• her distrust/failure of the gov’t to protect
• the influence of her culture
• a criticism of other cultures and women
themselves
Reading #5:
“The Rake: A Few Stories from my
Childhood,” David Mamet
Discussion:
(1) Authorial Voice: This memoir describes
incidents of chilling insensitivity in a startling
understated way. Mamet could have been
much more aggressive with his tone and
voice. However, this creates some tension
between what is being written about and the
casualness of how it is written. Find an
example of this tension in his work and
analyze his casual word choices.
Discussion:
(2) Narrative Structure: Mamet titles the
memoir and begins the memoir with a
reference to “the rake,” but he doesn’t tell
that story until the end. Why is it effective
to place this anecdote only after all of the
others in the essay have been told?
Discussion:
(3) Motif: Mamet’s essay is held together
with a motif about the façade of the happy
modern, suburban lifestyle. It is anything
but happy and perfect. In a way that may
not be clear to most readers, the “joke”
near the end of the memoir fits into this
motif perfectly. How?
Reading #6:
“The Diary of a Young Girl,” Anne
Frank
Reading #6:
“The Diary of a Young Girl,” Anne
Frank
Why Go Into Hiding: History of the Frank Family in
Holland
The Fate
The Arrest
Discussion:
Our selection includes three entries:
June 20, 1942: the first entry and
background
November 7, 1942: relationships with
family members
January 5, 1944: physical coming of age
Discussion:
(1) What is her purpose in keeping the
diary? And how does that purpose serve as
a subconscious motif that runs throughout
these three entries?
Discussion:
(2) Like the Hiroshima Diary and the 9/11
narratives, Anne Frank’s diary is an
historical record of horrific world events. Is
it possible to read the work and to
separate it from its context? In what ways
is her voice similar to Hachiya’s diary in its
control and maturity under the
circumstances?
Discussion:
(3) Although it chronicles the years 1942-
1944 in which Anne Frank hid in the secret
annex of her father’s business, the diary
reflects mostly the personal, private
feelings of an adolescent. How can we
relate to what she writes?