What have you learned about Carlos Eire thus far? Who is he and why do you think he's writing? Also, what does today's reading suggest to you about memoir as a genre? How would you describe that genre based on what you've read so far?
due in class 11/14
Up to this point in Eire's memoir, we have learned several things about him. For example, he was born in Cuba and experienced Fidel Castro's "revolution" as a young boy. He comes from a relatively affluent family because his father was a judge. Even after Castro's rise, Eire's father maintained his status as a judge, but was reduced to residing over a small wooden courthouse a couple hours from home rather than the large, grand courthouse of the city. Eire's mother contracted polio as a young girl, which left one of her legs deformed, but she was still a beautiful woman. Contrary to popular Cuban culture, Eire's father didn't allow traditional "Cuban" music to be played in their house, loved classical music and art, and despised cussing or joking about sexual things. Eire also had two brothers, one of whom was adopted from the streets. Eire seems to be writing about his life to inform people about what things were like during the early years of Castro's revolution and how they were after his rise to becoming the dictator. He also wanted to describe what it is like to be taken away from your family as a political refugee, I guess you could call him.
ReplyDeleteReading this portion of Eire's book shows me that a memoir is a lot more complex than I realized it was. I think I compared it to a personal essay, but a memoir includes a lot of descriptive details. I was impressed with how vivid Eire could remember the Cuba of his childhood. I'm not sure I could do that with my childhood experiences. I wonder though if a memoir is something like a stand-up comedian's jokes - based on a true story but mostly consisting of fictive details to fill it out.
What I have learned about Carlos Eire thus far is that as a child he had a very vivid and wild imagination considering there is a lot of exaggeration going on sometimes in his descriptions of what is actually going on around him. But in saying that it also shows that he is just like any other child, no matter what it was that was actually going on in his life at this time.
ReplyDeleteHe is a man who was shipped from Havana to the United States as a child and he is writing about his life before leaving Havana in order to make an awareness of what life was really like in Havana under Castro, especially right after Batista fled the country. Especially the increased violence against those who were of the upper class once Batista had fled the country and Castro took power.
A memoir as a genre to me seems like an autobiography of sorts but one that deals with the key turning points in your life, the big moments that impacted you the most and made you into the person you are today, influencing the decisions you make now. So as a genre I would say it is similar to an autobiography, but instead of just having your whole life in it there are just the key, big moments in your life that changed you and it only focuses on a particular moment or two in time.
So far we know alot about Carlos' life but we were presented with the information in an interesting way- that is the style of a memoir. We know that he was born and raised for a majority of his life in pre-Castro cuba with his Mother, Father and two brothers (one of which may or may not be adopted, I will admit I was a little confused). Religion is a large influence (or maybe moreso fear) in his life and was brought in by his father in the form of various paintings, biblical scene replicas etc. It is also clear that he somewhat resented the life of the rich in Cuba but he also was happy with the way he lived comfortably since his father was a judge. I think he is writing to tell the story of his country from his young perspective in order to give people the correct idea of what it was really like to be there- because there are a lot of stereotypes when it comes to Cuba and specifically American influence there (he talks about watching American TV shows, singing Happy Birthday in English etc).
ReplyDeleteThis reading says a lot about memoir as a genre. First of all, like I mentioned before, he presents us with the information in an interesting manner. The timeline is not specifically structured and he does not just lay out facts about his life- they are unfolded through an array of stories and accounts and descriptions of real life events and the pieces sort of fit together. This explains that memoirs are not specifically and rigidly structured and can be from various perspectives of ones self- a young child, teen years, adulthood etc. With this, the genre provides a lot of room for creativity and in my personal opinion it takes a creative spin to make people want to read about your experiences (what makes my story interesting?!). Also, relatability is vital in making a memoir because people want to be able to understand your experiences better by being able to relate it to their own. By talking about American customs and how they were incorportated into his childhood this memoir becomes more relatable for those of us who may have no ties at all to Cuban history or events.
Once again, I am stymied by a lack of preparation. So, while I cannot comment much on Carlos Eire, I can comment in general about my understanding of a memoir. As far as I know, a memoir does not necessarily follow chronology (though some certainly do). Instead, it follows to memories of the writer in order to show the growth and development of the writer as a person. For example, my grandfather wrote a memoir (though I must say that he is a much better doctor than writer) in which he simply describes his life, and his treasured memories. The point that he didn’t grasp, though, was the showing development – while he was writing a story about his life, he wasn’t exactly telling anything about himself beyond the bare facts – e.g. He was born on a farm and raised in a rural area, he became a doctor, blah blah blah. So, in conclusion, I would say that based on my experience, a memoir is a story about the development of the author, including memories, thoughts, current events (or I suppose in this case, past events), etc.
ReplyDeleteI have learned while reading Eire’s Memoir is that he is slightly crazy with thinking his parents are King Louis the XVI and Maria Antoinette. This craziness does not stop with him either it runs in the family with his brother electrocuting lizards. These are the two things I remember the clearest from these memoirs that and some very disturbing mentions of his experience at an airport. However, these readings gave no lasting impression on me and where mostly just about his child hood. They also confused me greatly especially with him thinking his parents were the reincarnation of King Louis and Maria Antoinette. As for who this person is and why he is writing I honestly do not know other then the fact that he wanted to tell anecdotes about his childhood growing up in Cuba and how he was wealthy but had an insane house keeper who practiced black magic and threatened to curse him on a daily bases. The reading suggests that this genre is a telling of ones life and their experiences even the more dual ones they go through. This writing was mostly confusing to me with what he was trying to say so it does not give a good light on what the genre of memoirs are. I would describe the genre of memoirs as a telling of ones self and the experiences that made them the person they are to day with the reasons of why they believe in the things they believe in.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Eire is an eight-year-old boy lives with his family. His father dreamt as King Louis XVI of france; however, his mother not dreamt as Marie Antoinette. His aunt Lucia, who is a spinster, live with Carlos family. His family has a maid, who did the cook, cleaned the house, and did the laundry. This maid was replaced by a evil lady,who loved to taunt him when his parents were not there.
ReplyDeleteThe book start with a new year day. Carlos wakes up and was surprised by some news. He think he will never be a person like his father because he can not wear his trousers on over his shoes.
From this book, a memoir is a book talks about one's life or part of one's life which is important in his or life.
What I learned about Carlos was that he was a man that was born in Cuba and then came to the USA. As a chiled he lived with his two parents and family, but he lived in Cuba. As a kid he moved over here alone then soon his mother, but his father had to stay over in Cuba. Who he is as a person I feel he wont us the reader to know that he is a mentaly strong person that has suffered a lot. This book is a way to tell the reader nicely that he is better then you, by all that he had to indoor. I think Carlos is a person that wont people to thank that yes we have it rough here in US, but there are countries that have it worse off. This was the reason why he wrote this book to show and tell people the strogel that he had to indoor while living over in Cuba then in US.
ReplyDeleteCarlos Eire is an author who has composed a memoir about his childhood. He was born in Cuba, but due to the chaotic and detrimental environment his parents deemed the country unsuitable to raise their son in. They sent him to live in the United States. When Eire wanted to return to Cuba to be with his family, the laws that were implemented by Cuban leader Fidel Castro prevented him from doing so. The story is about his struggle and the challenges he faced growing up away from his family.
ReplyDeleteI think Eire wrote this novel not only to tell his story, but also possibly to cause American readers to realize how lucky we are to live in a nation with freedoms that are unfathomable to those living in other countries, such as Cuba. I think that memoirs are a fantastic form of expression; they allow readers to step foot into another lifestyle, if even for just a minute, and understand what it is like to live in a way separate from what we are used to
Carlos Eire is a young boy that was born in Cuba. We have learned so far that he has a good life with his family in Havana, Cuba until he fleas to the United States at the age of eleven to leave during the presence of the Cuban Revolution. We have learned that his father is a judge and they live out in the woods. His parents want him to leave Cuba because they want him to find a better place to live and not grow up in this place where he can get hurt. I think that he is writing because he does not want to forget what his past was like, who is family is and what they are like, and just to always have something to remember his childhood. I think that he wants to write because he wants to document what his happening in his life and to be able to talk about it with someone because he is so alone. However, he does not act like he is alone because he has such a vivid imagination. You can see that in the stories that he tells in his book because he exaggerates and sort of embellishes certain things that happen. I think he is just writing also in order to tell what is going on in Cuba because he feels it is important to know about Castro’s leadership in Cuba.
ReplyDeleteI think today’s reading suggests that memoir, as a genre can be chaotic and unprofessional. I think that the reading showed that a memoir as a genre is so fresh and real rather than polished and revised. I feel this way because it is an eleven-year-old boy who is writing down what is happening in his life. He has no professional experience in writing. Also, he is posting his thoughts and feelings about his occurrences in his life. These occurrences are emotional and personal. I also learned that memoirs are like an autobiography. It seems as though it is an autobiography, telling about Carlos’ life but some things might be exaggerated and embellished.
I think that a memoir is a interesting genre to write. I do not have much experience writing memoir's but think that they are rather interesting to read. When I think of a memoir, I think of an piece of work that is written in an autobiography style that reflects on a memory. For example this could tell the reader about what the individual was going though during a certain time in history or it could just be a period of time in their life. We know that Erie and his family were in Cuba when he wrote this. He wrote this from the perspective of him as a child who is observing too many negative things while his family is trying to survive Castro’s rule. The child does not know how to react. Things are rough for the family right now and it scares him.
ReplyDeleteWe have learned that Carlos is the son of a judge, who like many others dreamt about crazy and childish things. He is the youngest son and has an older brother. With the reference to the maid cleaning their house we can assume that they are pretty well off financially. We also find out that his family is very religious.
ReplyDeleteHe is the author and main character of the book and writing because he wants to share an adventure of his life. Today’s reading suggest that memoir as a genre can be a great way for people to express their thoughts and relate to many others. Based on what I have read so far I would describe it like an autobiography. I think I will like this style because it gives a good story from the perspective of the author themselves.
The genre of Memoirs is an interesting one that comes from personal experience. The writers tend to write about themselves. They feel the need to tell their story. Eire came from Cuba to the United States without his parents at a very young age. The thought of a child surviving in a new country on there your own could be a very mentally harsh. It is what he believes should be told. Eire is young with a creative imagination. I think from his experience he believes it will be in someway helpful for someone else. This is a type of autobiography that tells a first-class story from the writers first-hand analytical perspective.
ReplyDelete