A memoir is characterized as a recollection of an historical event or experience from the author’s own memory. Though memoir is allegedly based upon the true events of one’s life, at a certain point, it must be considered whether embellishment alters the veracity of a memoir as a whole. As an author begins to provide additions and exaggeration to his or her telling of events, the distinction between a memoir and a mere work of fiction begins to blur, hence the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the memoir genre. What is often not discussed, however, is the understanding that a memoir’s truth is derived from the way by which the author perceived the events discussed. Though honesty is a major component of a memoir, unbiased truth is often uninteresting and difficult to achieve, nor does it make a memoir worth reading. Thus, when considering the reader’s enjoyment of a memoir, a commitment to truth is not of utmost importance.
It is perhaps the perspective from which an event is told that impedes upon one’s ability to present an entirely accurate depiction of that event. As humans, Man has a natural tendency to unintentionally provide emotional details when recounting a particular event. Memoirists adopt the role of a narrator throughout their writing, hence the embellished truth that is often observed in memoirs. As stated by Tobias Wolff, “Memory has its own story to tell. Memoirists are not writing proper history but rather what they remember of it or, more accurately, what they can’t forget” (Source E). Authors recount an event by writing about how they perceived it. Despite the author’s confirmation that their recollection is entirely factual, the reader may believe that the author’s depiction of that event has undergone great dramatization in order to make a memoir interesting and worth reading. Thus, the significance of truth in a memoir must be considered. In his memoir, This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff shares an event from his childhood in which Dwight, his mother’s partner, purposely goes out of his way to ensure that Jack feels powerless. Scouting was allegedly supposed to be all about Jack, but Dwight guarantees that Jack will get little attention at the meetings compared to Dwight.
Unlike the Scoutmaster, who wore jeans and sneakers with his regulation shirt, Dwight came to every meeting in the full plumage of insignia and braid and scarves, wearing shoes that I had spit shined as he looked on to point out spots I’d missed or brought to an imperfect luster. (Wolff 101)
Wolff recalls the incident with a negative connotation as to emphasize Dwight’s critical behavior of Jack. Though this detail might be exaggerated, it does not deviate from the truth or make the memoir any less effective in portraying its message; Wolff simply amplifies this detail in order to allow the reader to have a better understanding of Dwight’s abusive nature. If as Wolff states, a memoir is truly what an author can write from their own memory, then embellishments on trivial aspects such as menial details would not impact the overall message of the memoir.
In everyday life, there are bound to be moments of monotony. However, it is an author’s duty to transform such mundane moments into teachable lessons that contribute to the overall message of the memoir. Throughout This Boy’s Life, the reader may remark upon how there are very few moments when the memoir becomes uninteresting. Wolff uses exaggeration in order to make these moments appear lively and compelling, despite the genuine mundane nature of these events. For instance, Wolff chooses to include details surrounding a conversation with his stepbrother, Skipper, in which Skipper discusses details of his refurbished car. While many may consider this moment to be trivial and otherwise unimportant in the grand scheme of the memoir, Wolff transforms this moment to be nothing of the sort. The “rich and creamy” light inside as well as “smell of the leather” (Wolff 125) reshapes this mundane and seemingly insignificant moment, into one evermore interesting; it is often these insignificant moments that contribute most to the overall message of the memoir. As Annie Dillard, author of An American Childhood, states, “The best memoirs… forge their own forms. The writer of any work, and particularly any nonfiction work, must decide two crucial points: what to put in and what to leave out” (Source G). As discussed by Dillard, Wolff is tasked with including and abandoning certain details in order to provide support for the overall message of the memoir. Wolff’s inclusion of even miniscule details allows the memoir to be especially riveting, and even establishes a sense of credibility for Wolff. Wolff’s exaggeration of detail may allow the reader to feel as though Wolff remembers the recalled events clearly, thus validating the otherwise questionable truth throughout the memoir. Thus, although even minor details may be embellished throughout the text, it is done so in a manner as to further engage the reader in the text and promote authenticity of the author.
As time proceeds, memory of a certain event may become hazy, impacting an author’s ability to recount an event exactly as it had occurred. Patricia Hampl, Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, states that, “Memoir must be written because each of us must possess a created version of the past.” (Source F). Events presented in a memoir are personal experiences of an author, and therefore, it is not justified to question the validity of one’s memory, as they are the only individual who had experienced that event in the way the author had. For the reader to deem a figment of memory false is for the reader to have experienced the event in an identical manner as the author, which is practically unfeasible. At the outset of his memoir, Wolff makes an entirely valid statement regarding the composition of a memoir. He notes that the chronology of the memoir may have been slightly skewed, however, Wolff prefaces, “I’ve allowed some of these points to stand, because this is a book of memory, and memory has its own story to tell. But I have done my best to make it tell a truthful story” (Wolff 1). As memory is the basis of memoir, a spotty and sometimes unclear recollection of the events of one’s life is often inevitable; it is not rational to believe that one will clearly be able to recall events exactly as they had occurred. Therefore, the concept of truth is subjective in a memoir; it is unjust to label a memoir as fiction since only the author can recount an experience as he or she remembers it. Whether that memory is entirely true or appears to be enhanced to the reader is insignificant as the events of a memoir are presented in a manner by which the author remembers the events of his or her life, which vary greatly.
As there is no concrete evidence for the events within a memoir, memoir cannot be held to the irrational standard that full disclosure of the truth is necessary within a piece of writing. It should not be expected that a memoir contains merely truth, as this approach is often uninteresting and does not compel one to read such a telling of events. What also must be considered, however, is the distinction between a memoir and simple nonfiction. Memoir incorporates perspective, observation, and ensuing emotions that the author feels toward the presented events, which can often be mistaken for embellishment throughout the memoir. While embellishment is often overused by an author, it is the author’s prerogative to determine how the events of their life are presented to the audience, which is ultimately the most important aspect of the memoir genre.
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