(This article discusses whether autobiographies should be regarded as Fiction, Non-Fiction or both).
- Are the two texts; a)seen as a record of facts, a record of experience, a record of human significance of events, OR b) seen as fiction in the interpreting, editing, selecting, projecting a certain idea of self.
Both books, Marguerite Duras’ ‘L’Amant’ or ‘The Lover’ (published in 1984) and Robert Graves’ ‘Goodbye to All That’ (originally published in 1929) are examples of autobiographies dealing with life during different periods of history. However both are similar in the way in that they discuss the social and political environments of the time in which they were written. Graves gives an account of his life during the First World War (1914-1918), some prior details of his growing up and education at the Charterhouse School in London . After the war he describes his life in Wales , in Oxford University and in Egypt . Duras’ book comments on her life under the French colonialists in Indochina in the post World War II era. Though both are taken to be autobiographies, they focus more on the events of the times, and how they were affected by them. The books present a fragmented picture of the lives of the characters detailed in them, they are not autobiographies in the true sense of the word. While there is some historical fact in the details represented, the books can be seen as a record of personal experiences or events that took place in the lives of the central characters and those around them, and how their lives changed because of it.
It may be argued that these books do not present the picture of a true autobiography, in that they very often give fragmented details of the events and characters. The reader is drawn from one event or character to another. Given that History is the life of Kings told by historians, it may be said that Graves’and Duras’ works are a cross between fiction and non-fiction. Though there is an element of history and autobiography, it is a quest to present the author as the hero of the piece- his or her personal triumphs over the situations faced. (312 words)
- An example for Graves ’ text is the image of the passport/height/weight, which is a record. But we want more than a factual record. We read autobiographies to find experience. What does it mean to be a British Soldier, what was it like?
Graves example of a factual description is the anatomy of the Passport he writes in his book “Goodbye to All That”. It is a diversion- a way of inducing our interest in the lives of the soldiers. There are those who read biographies as a study of life in a particular period of time. They wish to gain different perspectives of what life was at that time, or what were the prevalent social and political mores. For these readers, such descriptions have a superflous context. They are not interested in the details, they want an overall view of that period of history. Being a British soldier at the time of the First World War led to a loss of innocence, and an induction into the very worst profession they could be. Loss of life, despair, loss of human values, dejection, uselessness, avarice, jealousy, ambition- all these are outlined in the book. It meant being a slave to your superiors and your Government- with orders to follow without question. It meant blind obedience, no matter how stupid and reckless your superior. Graves gives a very good account of what it was to be a soldier in the first World War; there is a sense of utter disgust, revulsion and uselessness that pervades through the book. Life in the trenches was utterly dismal and forlorn. The loss of dear friends, the end of innocence faced with the harsh realities of war, and the stupidity of the bureauracy of the British government and class differentiation, all are clearly outlined. (256 words)
- Autobiographies are a valuable way of learning history. However, as a fiction, the passport description is only given brief references. The reader is left to imagine the rest. This could be party due to the fact that there is a tendency not to dwell on things, to keep the reader with constant anecdotes (something about everything). So, how is this example related to the question?
Graves description of the passport is one of the few times he goes into some kind of details. However only brief references are given as to the passport. Graves would rather involve the reader in the events and circumstances of the time. His style of writing is that of one in constant flow, as if the events of his life can be likened to the flow of a river. Events and anecdotes are narrated in constant paragraphs. One flows into another, though on analysis there is no apparent connection. Graves thus keeps the reader busy with his style of addressing things, here an event, there a character. Graves thus excuses himself from serious writing. Herein lies the difference between fiction and non-fiction- we are apt to forgive the author of an autobiographical work if he or she misses some details- either unintentionally or on purpose. But we are less forgiving to a non-fiction writer who is expected to know his or her subject in detail.(165 words)
- A critic once said ‘ Graves accommodates the horror of war without penetrating it’, this should be elaborated on and related to the question.
Robert Graves gives a very poignant and scathing view of the First World War in his book. The book is an open criticism of the War and the circumstances leading to it. It criticizes the idea that War is a means of being patriotic and serving one’s country. Rather war is taken to be an anathema to peace. War is only staged to satisfy man’s greed. The soldiers in the war efforts are deluded into believing that they are serving their country’s interests and are the ones that die for it. Though Graves writes about the war from his personal experience, he is not one to present the horrific images seen by man in large scale combat for the first time. He skips along as he writes, giving the reader an overview of the events, rather than the sordid details. Therefore Graves has been criticized in that he accommodates the horrors of war without penetrating it. (156 words)
- This autobiography can be seen as fiction by the detachment Graves makes, or to rely on external descriptions of himself, tendency to keep things at bay. What we must consider is…is there fiction in truth or truth in fiction? For fiction in truth is Graves ’ comic sketches of the war, the tendency to use characters as caricatures. For truth in fiction is that there are certain degrees of truth, the ironic parts of the book (do they have truth in them).
Robert Graves’ style of writing is personal yet comical. The readers get the impression that he is telling a story as storytellers do. There is a personal detachment noticeable from the very first page of the book. Though he is giving personal details; the style is very narrative, as if he were writing about a third person rather than himself. Graves uses comedy and irony for two different purposes, to keep the reader interested and to make a satirical critique of the powers that be- the superiors in his army outfit and the Government of the time. He abhors war and the disruptions it causes in life. Painting his characters in caricature is his way of ridiculing the thinking of his superiors- he does not think very highly of anyone included in the war-mongering effort. Graves however uses irony in the serious parts of his book, when he is making a point, that all such efforts of man are totally useless and to no avail. There is some element of truth in his fiction, and fiction in his truth. He wants to give the reader his personal experiences and thoughts, not involve them in a political discourse. (197 words)
- Irony involves detachment and is comical – is this used by Graves as a survival strategy? Can we be totally objective about ourselves? Can we ever know the truth and nothing but the truth? The author’s memory is bound to be selective.
The literary style of Robert Graves for his work is alternatively ironical and comical. It might be said that this is the author’s style to involve the readers and keep them interested. Graves writes in a narrative style, his prose a never ending sea of paragraphs that take the reader from one anecdote or event to the next. However his style is moderately engaging. Graves seems to detach himself from the horrors of war- however it cannot be denied that he gives a truthful yet gruesome picture of it, from a first hand perspective. He remembers the loss of friends and the loss of innocence, as men were sucked into the war effort with tales of false grandeur and patriotism. While he blames the British institutions for brainwashing him and his friends into serving for the war, he should be objective and take responsibility for his own final decision. Memory is selective. We are ready to take responsibilities for our successes but want to blame our failures on others. One cannot be totally objective, even when writing autobiographies. Thus we can never know the truth and nothing but the truth- life is coloured from the writer’s perspective. Even in Law, given the facts, the judgement is based on interpretation. (210 words)
- In Duras’ ‘The Lover’, the beginning lacks context, the reader is left with asking questions such as where? And who? Absence of specificity, can be though of in two ways; a) Duras being dispossessed of life and b) her refusal to represent herself and be identified. This should be compared with Graves .
The beginning of Duras’ work focuses on the political and social events of the time in which the book is written. She deliberately does not introduce herself. Thus the reader is made to understand the political context which pervaded the country at that time. Duras begins the book from the point of view of a person who is already dispossessed of life, she sees her existence as pointless and without a future. It is the time of her life when she is forced to prostitute herself to her Chinese lover, as a means of supporting her family. With feelings of dejection, rejection and unacceptance by both her family and the society of which she is a part, she refuses to accept herself and be identified.
Graves ’ style of autobiographical writing is a chronology of events, though disjointed and spread out. He is just describing events as they occur- a modern storyteller. Even then, he manages to interject some events and comical anecdotes, and makes use of irony in stating his own viewpoints. Compared to this, Duras uses metaphor, imagery and circumstance to achieve the same effect. (186 words)
- Another question that must be considered is if Duras is ever an insider to the experiences she describes? Duras’ autobiography is arguably a non-story. The chronology is fractured. No sense of each experience has a definite significance attached to them, there are lots of gaps. The lover is not simply autobiographical: the narrator again calls herself both ‘I’ and ‘she’. The lover remains in an uncomfortable position, somewhere between truth and fiction, and so asks difficult questions about the nature of memory.
As explained above, Duras’ work “L’Amant” is a cross between fiction and non-fiction. But given this, is it right that we should be so critical of the author and her work? Duras’ work has been hailed as a good postmodernist account of feminism in post colonial Vietnam . Even if the chronology is fractured, we must realize that the author has not written, nor wants to write an autobiography in the traditionalist sense. She is more concerned about discussing the political and social events of the time, the upheavals that were beginning to take place as the colonialists began to lose their power over the peasants. Duras’ takes us on a historical tour. She explains her life events in the context of what society and her family has done to her, out of their own selfish needs. She therefore calls herself ‘I’ and ‘She’ alternatively, in different passages of the book. Maybe this is an attempt at taking responsibility for events (when she calls herself ‘I’) or a more vivid description, compared to when she does not want to take responsibility for herself or the events, or simply does not remember them clearly. Thus she calls herself ‘She’ in other parts of the book.
In the final analysis, we must allow for the fact that even in writing autobiographies, writers often do not or cannot recall the exact circumstances or their frame of mind at a certain point in time. This happens even despite diaries and other chronological records.
Memory is selective. One chooses to recall or remember happier events with more relish than one would recall an unpleasant occurrence. It is just human nature, and authors are no exception. Yes, Duras is an insider to the events she describes, but does not write from a strictly autobiographical perspective. (298 words) |