•Literary Concepts related to first
quarter independent reading:
* BIOGRAPHY
* AUTOBIOGRAPHY
* MEMOIR
BIOGRAPHY
• An account of a person’s life written by
someone else.
• Focuses on the character, personal life
and career or important activities of the
subject.
• Biographies usually cover the subject’s
entire life.
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE FOR
WRITING a BIOGRAPHY?
• Ideally a biography should be an
accurate, well-rounded and
factual life history of a particular
person set in the times in which
he/she lived.
• Many biographers write
biographies that are biased in
favor of or against the subject.
• “Authorized” biographies—written with
cooperation from the subject/family;
usually positive or neutral in tone.
• “Unauthorized” biographies—written
without permission or even against the
wishes of the subject/family
– often deliberately malicious or negative in
tone
– “kiss and tell” book by former employee or
lover
– expose by a career “journalist”
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
• An account of a person’s own life
written by the subject himself or
herself.
• Usually takes the form of a narrative of
significant events that cover the
subject’s whole life.
• Usually a blend of memory,
introspection and retrospection.
Greek Root Words – ADD TO LIST
• spec = “observe”, “view” or
“examine”
• intro = “inside”
• retro = “earlier time”
Vocabulary word
•Introspection
–Noun
–the act of examining one's own inner
thoughts, impressions, and feelings
–the contemplation of your own
desires, decisions and conduct
Vocabulary word
• retrospection
– Noun
– the act or an instance of looking back
on or reviewing past events,
experiences, etc.
– reference to a past event
– a survey of past life or experiences
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (noun) vs.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL (adj)
• Diaries, journals and letters
are autobiographical
writings, but they are not an
autobiography because they
are not continuous
narratives.
Autobiographical novel
• “A novel (a work of fiction) based on the
life of the author.
• Names and locations are usually changed
and events are recreated to make them more
dramatic, but the story still bears a close
resemblance to that of the author’s life.
• To be considered an autobiographical novel
by most standards, there must be a
protagonist (main character) modeled after
the author and a central plotline that mirrors
events in his or her life.”
• (excerpted from www.wikipedia.com)
Why write an autobiography?
• Most people who write autobiographies
do so at a particular time for a specific
reason.
– Turning point in life or career
– To clear up public misconceptions, set the
record straight about something
– To take advantage of current fame
– To make money when possible or needed
– To celebrate his/her life and thank those
who helped
Semi-autobiographical novel
• “A semi-autobiographical novel draws on the
experiences of the author's own life for its plot
but significant parts are changed.
• Authors may opt to write a semiautobiographical novel rather than a true
autobiography for a variety of reasons: to
protect the privacy of their family, friends, and
loved ones; to achieve emotional distance from
the subject; or for artistic reasons, such as
simplification of plot lines, themes, and other
details.”
– (excerpted from www.wikipedia.com)
MEMOIR
• Usually an account of specific
period in the writer’s life.
• Often that period coincides
with important historical events
or a significant personal
turning point.
MEMOIR
• Less structured and shorter
than a full autobiography.
• Usually about part of a
person’s life rather than the
chronological story of the
person’s entire life story.
• “…The memoir, especially as it is being used in
publishing today, often tries to capture certain
highlights or meaningful moments in one's past,
often including a contemplation of the meaning
of that event at the time of the writing of the
memoir. The memoir may be more emotional
and concerned with capturing particular scenes,
or a series of events, rather than documenting
every fact of a person's life (Zuwiyya, N. 2000).
• For example, Homer Hickam, Jr. has written several
memoirs about his life, including October Sky (formerly
Rocket Boys) and The Coalwood Way. Both cover his
high school days in Coalwood, West Virginia. They are
full length books, but the scope of time is brief compared
to Hickam's entire life and all the events of his life.”
• Excerpted from http://inkspell.homestead.com/memoir.html
• “... Focus on a brief period of time or series of related events
• ... Narrative structure, including many of the usual elements of
storytelling such as setting, plot development, imagery, conflict,
characterization, foreshadowing and flashback, and irony and
symbolism.
• ... The writer's contemplation of the meaning of these events in
retrospect
• ... Has a fictional quality/feel even though the story is true.
• ... Higher emotional level
• ... More personal reconstruction of the events and their impact
• ... Therapeutic experience for the memoirist, especially when the
memoir is of the crisis or survival type of memoir.”
• Excerpted from http://inkspell.homestead.com/memoir.html
Do autobiographies and
memoirs tell the truth?
• "An autobiography may be largely fictional. Few
can recall clear details of their early life and are
therefore dependent on other people's
impressions, of necessity equally unreliable.
Moreover, everyone tends to remember what
he wants to remember. Disagreeable facts
are sometimes glossed over or repressed ...."
• Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and
Literary Theory, 1991.
Literary Concept
•compare and contrast
– compare (What is similar?)
– contrast (What is different?)
– To “compare and contrast” two things means:
• to take note of their similarities and differences;
• to be able to discuss, explain and make judgments
about how the two things are related to each other.