Finding Your Voice

On Voice and Telling the Story, Telling the Truth, Guillermoprieto and Orlean address the importance of expressing your voice when writing. As Orlean argues, “voice is -as the world tells us- the way a writer talks.” (159)  By incorporating our voice, we no longer write facts but learn to tell stories that speak to our readers.

They use their personal experiences to depict how they developed a writer’s voice. Guillermoprieto narrates that reporting news led her to find her voice, “my driving desire as a writer is to make it impossible for the U.S. reader to ignore Latin America. I do that by telling stories. Stories are the opposite of hard news…” (155) Orlean explains how reading out loud helped her hear how she told her story, “I find that sometimes when I give reading of my published work, I skip parts that seem boring to me. Then I wonder, would it have been better to edit that out in the first place? When you read aloud, extraneous material falls away.”(158)

In each of the past readings (I have done for my English course) I have disliked some of the author’s quotes or opinions. However, after rereading these pieces I found the exception to the rule: I did not dislike any of Guillermoprieto or Orlean’s views. If anything, I found admiring how much preparation and time these women put into their writings, “I do enormous amounts of reading before I begin reporting…Once I begin to write, I spend days and days working on a lede” (Guillermoprieto 156); “I have to sit at my desk and really work at finding the strongest image possible.” (Orlean 159)

I absolutely loved how Guillermoprieto quoted my favorite book and author, One Hundred Years of Solitude and Gabriel García Márquez, to exemplify how people tend to be ignorant towards people and events outside of their comfort- zone, ““He spends the rest of his life saying, “There was this massacre,” to which people respond, “You’re crazy. That never happened.” I never stopped being angry about that.” (155) Reading this made me reminiscence on how the massacre of the banana plantation workers had struck me when I read it in the book. I could easily relate the moral of the story to daily life experiences in Dominican Republic, where politicians act ignorant to the effects of their corruption on the poor.

After thinking about how much I enjoyed the writings, I asked myself, how were these pieces different from the prior (I had read)?  A single answer came to mind: I could relate to every word they said and apply advises given.  In past writing assignments I had been advised to not be robotically formal in my writing. My writing fellow encouraged me to incorporate more of my voice rather than just explaining facts. If I had read these pieces earlier, I would have prevented many headaches from thinking what I should and should not say in my essays!  Through these pieces I learned that like Guillermoprieto and Orlean, we can all struggle in finding our voice. Among some of the advises provided by them were: to be specific and hook the readers through the details, to blend information, observation and my reaction to the material or assignment in question, change the story’s pace and read your stories out loud. It may take time, but by applying these steps (or advises) and through hard work or harsh experiences we can get there.

Reflection on my writing

Personal essays have a greater appeal to the reader by narrating stories with feelings, conflicts and dramas in which the writer can become different characters at the same time.  I always enjoy writing them because feel like I can get away from all the formality and express myself as I would among family and friends. Born and Raised: Change is inevitable, my essay #2, was no different. Even though it was a simple topic to write about, it required me to recollect past experiences, which were not always the best. I drafted and redrafted the essay over and over again because I did not want to over-expound personal details of my life at ages seven and fourteen. Despite of my attempts, I still believe I was a bit too personal. If I had the opportunity, I would omit some of the things I mentioned and would infuse more analysis into (why I had) some of my thoughts and (did certain) actions at those ages. I believe that the changes would have given the essay an adequate balance of analysis and emotion, rather than conveying more of one side than of the other.  I do not regret what I wrote or how the essay resulted, but I do believe there was room for improvement.

Ethics in personal writing

Ethics in Personal Writing and Taking Liberties: The Ethics of the Truth depicts how two women of different races, background and class can be connected on a similar issue. Dickerson and Ung explain (their connection) how personal experiences have led them to make radical decisions and cross ethical boundaries. Seeking justice for her assaulted nephew, Dickerson admits, “I had to lie through my teeth to get this story.”(185) While facing a family dilemma as well, Ung claims, “in the narrative of Lucky Child, I claim my sister’s story as my own- an imaginative premise.” (Ung 187)

It would be dishonest of me to say I agreed with all of their actions. I do not. I believe both Dickerson and Ung could have used other methods rather than lies, regardless if it was for a cause.  Also, despite letting her family read her memoir drafts, I did not like how Dickerson was reluctant to let anyone read her drafts or change her family-inspired writings, “tell me what bothers you and I’ll think about it. I made no promises.”  Her family members had the write to an opinion if they believed to be portrayed incorrectly or biased in the writings. Rather than admitting the possibility of an error, Dickerson gives reasons to her defense, “I believe it’s condescending only if you think there’s something wrong with the way people talk.” (186)

I have always been family oriented. More than once I have found myself stating that nothing matters more to me than my family. I liked how this was the case with both writers, “my allegiance to them [her family] trumped my allegiance to journalism” (Dickerson 186-187); “whatever I achieve is shared with my family, Lucky Child has been, from the outset, our collective achievement.” (Ung 188)

I could easily relate to these women. I would not be human if I said my life has been all about rainbows and butterflies. I have also experienced harsh times and believe, as an old Proverb says, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” I still do not agree with their lies, but I think Dickerson and Ung had noble intentions at heart, to discover the truth behind a crime and be a voice for the forgotten Cambodian women. They were misunderstood by others, “some of my non-writer friends thought the idea of writing about the guy who had shot and paralyzed my nephew was horribly exploitative” (Dickerson 185); “Some Khmer people told me: Let the dead stay buried.” (Ung 187) 

At times, I wished I could have changed certain circumstances my family was going through, but all I could do was write documents or letters that could help ease the problem.  Although I have not faced grave experiences as the writers (which I must point out seemed like plots to Drama films), I relate the most with how their families’ experiences enabled them to go the extra mile as they could, through their writing.

Reference: Dickerson, Debra. “Ethics in Personal Writing” And Ung, Loung. “Taking Liberties: The Ethics of the Truth.”Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writer’s Guide form the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. New York: Plume, 2007. Print.

The Spirit of Vision

On The Spirit of Vision: Writing from the Inside/Outside, Chang argues the importance of accepting every aspect of who we are in order to understand our own view of the world and others’. She sets herself as an example of how rejecting her cultural past over the years had changed the understanding of her world, “I found that it was easier to keep my home culture at home and assimilate at school… I had erased my ethnicity”, and her view of others, “at school, I crinkled my little nose at the other Koreans who exposed their Korean ways to the world. I laughed at them.”  (Chang, 46)

While reading through the first paragraphs of the article I thought, “How could I possibly like or relate to the work of someone that negates part of her identity?”  I obviously disliked some of the things Chang narrated, but to my surprise I found myself liking,relating and even respecting her experience. I did not like how Chang rejected anything involving Korean heritage; however, I understood the reasons she did so. An experience, either positive or negative, can change us and, suddenly, we might never be the same. “My hand had been slapped, and my medium of expression retreated deep inside like an insecurity. This was my first experience writing.” (Chang, 46) Being scolded at her first experience writing changed Chang negatively; however, this is not always the case. Discovering my grandmother’s journal has made me passionate for writing, a positive change. 

Also, Chang found easier to silence her past and assimilate to her present. After years gone by, she realized her error during the tutor training seminars. “In the seminars… I allowed the silent part of my cultural past to unfold through reflections encouraged in the seminar.” (Chang, 46)  I did not like the attitude she assumed.  I believe that a person should not prolong the redemption of his or her problems and if Chang felt uncomfortable with her cultural background, she should have taken action or reflected on negating her heritage long before her sophomore year.

Ironically, despite not liking a couple of her initial views, I can relate to not accepting completely my cultural background. Since I was a child I have been taught to be proud of my Dominican heritage, which I am; however, I do not necessarily favor all Dominican traditions, views or attitudes. I personally find absurd to eat rice and beans every day, to applaud after your flight lands or to speak loud all the time, but I would not negate or reject my culture because of these aspects.

Chang realized the error in her ways. I absolutely liked her change, regardless of the time it took her. Accepting her cultural background influenced her greatly, “my culture wrapped me like a warm and comfortable blanket to stand up for who I am, to speak with a louder voice than I had before.” (Chang, 47) Chang’s new state aided the students she tutored that felt as she had in the past. Most importantly, her newly recovered heritage provided her with a new vision of her world, her inside, and of others’ worlds, the outside. Being able to appreciate, accept and embrace such visions was Chang’s greatest accomplishment. This I respect the most.

 *Reference : Chang, L. (2010). The spirit of vision: Writing from the inside/outside. The Writing Center Journal, 30(1), 46-47.

On “Seven Up”

Seven Up presents how early socialization took place among children of diverse class, gender and race that had a single factor in common, age, and how such factors could shape their lives as they grew up.

At a first impression, I imagined the children as typical seven year-olds able to carry out simple tasks and recognize truths from lies; however, to my surprise, the children were quite different to my initial thoughts.  Whether by answering questions relating to politics, love, and society in a mature manner or expressing themselves articulately, the Seven Up children demonstrated levels of knowledge, consciousness and maturity beyond their age. Apted proves class influences these levels by depicting how children of lower class were less knowledgeable than others, as Paul, one of the orphans from the charity-based boarding school demonstrates, “What is a university?”

Each child was unique and had his pros and cons; hence, choosing both my favorite and least favorite child was not as easy as I expected. After examining the children’s personalities, answers and actions, I reached a decision. My least favorite child was Andrew, one of the three wealthy boys that attended the preparatory school at Kensington. Why he was my least favorite child is the same for many others, his condescending attitude. Andrew, in particular, felt the need to be the focus of attention, was constantly interrupting Charles and John to express his opinion and was not child-like because of his snobbish, which  he exemplified by stating he read The Financial Times except on Monday because stocks did not change. In contrast to Andrew, my favorite child was Bruce, who attended a prestigious boarding school and wanted to be a missionary. At the age of seven children tend to be less egocentric; however, they still focus on obtaining their wants.  This phase is known as the concrete operational stage. (Giddens 2012: 85) I chose Bruce because he was the exception to the rule. Unlike most of the Seven Up children, Bruce was concerned with solving Third World countries issues such as: poverty, hunger and education. Also, I found his love towards God and religion delightful. I imagine Bruce’s words giving Apted and the Seven Up team hope to that generation, especially, after the disastrous interviews with Andrew, Charles and John. Bruce was a seven year-old visionary. 

If deciding which was my favorite and least favorite child was a hard task, choosing the child that I could relate to the most was almost impossible. After analyzing the children and remembering myself at age 7, I decided that the child I related to the most was Jackie. We both have five siblings and our family lived in a working class neighborhood.   I recall having two best friends, Tara and Jennifer, and how we would always make fun of each other’s crushes. Regardless of similarity in background and friendship, the reason I relate to Jackie the most is because when I hear stories of me during this age, my relatives describe me as a charismatic and amiable little girl similar as Jackie depicted during the interviews.

  In general, I found Seven Up an excellent piece of both sociological and documentary work.

*Reference: Giddens, Anthony. Introduction to Sociology. 8th. W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 85. Print.