Eggers makes himself appealing to his readers in many ways. Though his topics seem completely random, he is able to capture my attention with his blunt and somewhat informal responses to everyday thoughts or actions we experience as humans. For example, Eggers touches on the topic of sex in his list of topics in which he feels makes himself an appealing narrator. He states, (the author) "he sometimes has sex without condoms." Though this might not apply to me directly, it creates a "Hey I am human, I make mistakes, too" atmosphere that helps make his essay more appealing to me. He expresses his faults directly so we can relate to him.
Much like Woolf, he jumps from topic to topic randomly. To me, this also makes for a better essay because seldom do I sit and think about one topic without my mind wandering away, soon to be thinking about a new topic, in which I then have to retrace my steps to find how and why I am now sitting here thinking of my cousins new puppy when I started with sex without condoms....We all wander...Eggers and Woolf do a great job of pointing this out, and represent how we can use these thought processes to create our "voice" in writing. I am excited to see how Egger's writing style continues throughout this book.
In my essays I find myself trying to take a broad topic, such as falling in love for the first time and make it relate able for my readers. I have learned that adding those simple details, such as Cheech and Chong in Trey's room, can help to create a connection with my audience because those are the details an individual would pay attention to and remember most. When reading, I find myself more engaged and focused in the material when the Author or Narrator provides something I can relate too, so I find that it is important to establish that connection when I write my own pieces. I would like to think my essay's help show how my experiences have shaped who I am today!
I really like this sentence, even though I despise the word "random": "Though his topics seem completely random, he is able to capture my attention with his blunt and somewhat informal responses to everyday thoughts or actions we experience as humans."
ReplyDeleteI wish that Blogger would let me underline the portion about being able to capture your attention with somewhat informal responses to everyday thoughts. It's really eloquently worded, I think.
I also think it's funny that so many of us have noted that we don't necessarily relate to Eggers, but we do relate to the ideas that he presents. I'll admit that I didn't enjoy the introduction to the book, but I do appreciate the gamble he took in structuring the introductory narrative. You captured my reasoning, more or less, in this blog.
And you're right — each of our minds wanders while we read. Authors like Woolf and Eggars (not to group them together, per se) realize that and employ that notion in their writing.
I wonder if the wandering, if the changing of topics, becomes part of the point of the essay/memoir. We see "the movement of the mind on the page." A confused mind, maybe. Now, this isn't just distraction from one thing to another. And I agree with Jim: it's not random. I think that word ends up standing in for more precise things. But Kristen's great point is the way in which this deliberate digression (like deliberately messy hair?) appeals to us. We like to a see an in-control thinker show us the zaniness of his/her mind. I think.
DeleteAs for relatability, KB, you are doing well with that. But when do you reach out and throttle us and say, "you and me...we've got something in common. You should be my buddy on the page. You need to listen to this because you're going to like it." Or do you think the best way to reach out to a reader is to be calmer?