Characterization in Creative Nonfiction

As seen through Lee Martin’s Sorry

Lopate’s Essay POINT OF VIEW is the first choice made

when establishing your narrative voice/character:

First person singular: ISecond Person: YouThird Person: He, She, They

THE “I” IN MEMOIR “I” is not sufficient to establish who the

character/storyteller is It does establish a sense of intimacy. We’re

closer to the character when first person is used.

This is why “I” is not sufficient for building oneself into a character; the same techniques needed in fiction and for other characters is also required for the “I” you are writing to represent yourself

Character E.M. Forster created the famous fictional

distinction between “flat” and “round” characters; other distinctions have been drawn between transparent and opaque. Both refer to the idea of simple versus complex characters.

Lopate argues it doesn’t matter if it’s nonfiction or fiction; the characters in your writing need to be knowable, and that includes the narrator.

Oneself as a Character Need to have or acquire some distance “You need to be able to see yourself fro the

ceiling: to know, for instance, how you are coming across…” (p. 18)

Honest writing isn’t served by being dishonest: whether it’s being too humble or too braggartly.

Authenticity in building yourself as a character requires honest assessment

Assessment Lopate argues one should start by assessing

your habits, quirks, mannerisms. What makes you different, special?

The challenge is to stand out, not to depict oneself as being the same as everyone else

The challenge isn’t to make stuff up, but to dramatize what is already there that makes you singular

Self in Conflict Standard types of dramatic conflict: Person vs. person Person vs. nature Person vs. self Person vs. technology The point is that memoir requires the facing

of conflict and dealing with conflict in the same way that fiction requires it.

Honesty and generosity

Lopate’s view is that some worry they are either “too weird” or “too ordinary” to write honestly about themselves.

Both “extremes are rooted in shame, and both reflect a lack of wordliness.”

The job of the writer is to hone in on the details and specifics of life itself and transform them into something interesting and authentic

Beyond Quirks Creating oneself as a character extends to

considering one’s history, which can include: gender, religion, social class, geography etc.

Establishing what matters and not making assumptions about what people know.

Have a desire to entertain your readers. This requires not necessarily hating or loving yourself, but being curious; being willing to explore yourself

Write yourself in action, not as a passive onlooker; just as in fiction

Sorry by Lee MartinMajor characters:

Lee, the narratorKatrina, his neighbor

Lee’s fatherLee’s mother

Lee, the narrator “There were barbed-wire fences to climb

over or crawl through , and I was always afraid I would snag myself on one of the sharp barbs.” (p. 343)

“I was like my mother, timid and not meant for the rough ways of farm life.”

“In my own home, my father whipped me at the least provocation.” (p. 344)

“Leave her alone,” I said. I shoved at Dan’s shoulder, momentarily knocking him off balance.” (p. 347)

Katrina “I preferred to let Katrina come for me and

then accompany me through the fields.” (p. 343)”

“…Katrina…was the source of so much that pleased me: the warmth of her hand, the soft fuzz of her angora sweater, the airy billow of her empress sleeves.”

“You hurt him.” Katrina was drumming her fists into my back…”You’re awful,” she said.

Narrator’s Father, Roy “He wore prosthetic hooks, their steel as

cold and as hard as the regret that shadowed his life.” (p. 344)

”He always treated the hired men well, paid them whatever they asked, and insisted that they stay for a meal.” (p. 345)”

“That’s my boy,” he would say, and despite all the trouble between us, there would be an affectionate lilt to to his voice… (p. 348)

“You do like I say.” My father’s voice was angry now. “Or do you want me to blister your ass?”

Indirect Characterization

“How desperately he must have wanted to be one of them, a whole man, free fro those hooks and the stumps of his arms that he slipped into the hooks’ hard plastic holsters.” (p. 345)

“What made me especially sad was the knowledge that inside my father was exactly that kind of man—decisive, resourceful, courageous—and had he only had hands he would have been better able to demonstrate those qualities.” (p. 349)

Lee’s Mother “Goodness,” my mother said once. “The

Jents will think there’s murder going on.” (p. 344)

“My mother was as much help as she could be—driving grain trucks, greasing machinery, doctoring cattle and hogs…” (p. 344)

“She had stood by, silent, while my father had whipped me…she had always seemed so helpless in my father’s house. All she could do was endure and trust to God.” (p. 352)

Direct and Indirect Characterization

Mack Jent:p. 350: “It gave me an odd feeling to think of

Mack Jent farming our ground because I knew that my father didn’t completely approve of his way of doing things.” (p. 350)

“He teased me about being afraid of their dog, or having to double with Katrina when we rode her horse.”

Sensory Detail & Theme

In this essay, Martin explores the theme of regret. He is raised in an atmosphere of violence and remorse. He is himself timid—drawn to softness and gentleness, and afraid of violence and chaos.

His father’s hooks versus Katrina’s soft clothes and warm hands

His fear of Katrina’s dog, the nipping terrier:“All I knew that day in the basement was that Katrina

didn’t like what Dan was doing to her any more than I liked their terrier nipping at my ankles.”

“To me, he was like their terrier dog—tightly wound and tenacious, full of growl and snap.” (p. 351)

Contrast Katrina is gentle, but when Lee defends her against

her brother, she becomes angry. She doesn’t like his violence

Lee is fascinated by his father’s workers manners in his house: “I was always surprised at how shy the hired men were at our table, how humble, how hesitant…” (p. 345)

Martin’s memoir is as much about his father as it is about his own reckoning with the inner complexities of himself and his father: “Hello, Katrina,” I said, and I felt something open inside of me, a door back to the boyy I had been, timid and afraid.”

Sorry The essay is named after the game Lee is playing with

Katrina and her brother (p. 346) The narrator feels cozy and dry and happy until Dan starts

bothering Katrina. But Dan is not a real threat, in fact he’s smaller than Lee.

Lee hurts Dan and then: “I felt such an emptiness inside, similar to the sinking

sensation I got riding in a car that crested a hill to fast and dipped down the other side…I wondered whether this emptiness was what my father felt after he had whipped me, sorry that he had let his temper get the better of him, sorry that he had gone too far, sorry that the world he thought he had a hold on had slipped out from under him.” (p. 348)

Lee in Action The reader has sympathy for the narrator

because we know that he is beaten by his father

But we also see him in action: expressing his own anger against someone smaller than him

We see him trying to help his father We see him seeking out the comfort of

Katrina As Lopate says, “There is something off-

putting about a nonfiction story in which the I is infinitely more sinned against than sinning.”

We also learn… Where the narrator is from: the ambiance of

his upbringing and how that influences him His parents and their relationship to the

world The role the natural world plays in the

narrator’s lifeMan vs. natureMan vs. manMan vs. self

Exercise Write for 15 minutes about how someone in

your life sees you. This can be someone you are close to This can be someone you’re not close to The goal is to write how you believe you are

perceived by another person You might start with: “_____________ thinks

I’m ___________ because__________________.

Reading Quiz We have read a significant amount of the craft

explanations that will guide your work this semester. This quiz is designed to see how well you

understand and can apply these concepts to the creative nonfiction essays we’ve read.

I will be looking for your understanding and ability to synthesize and use citation in these questions

We will continue to have regular critical in-class assignments such as these

You have half an hour to complete these four questions.

Workshop Groups Workshop 1: Allison, Todd, Lauryn Workshop 2: Jack, Chelsea, Jessica C, Izzy Workshop 3: David G, Ariel, Kore e, Kelsey Workshop 4: Nona, Jess, Luciano, Willow

Workshop Protocol Today, exchange manuscripts and discuss

with one another what you wrote about, the challenges you faced and any questions you have in particular about your work that you’d like others to read for

This week: fill out the critique sheets for each member of your group for next week’s workshop

Make sure Julia has a copy of your manuscript as well, and make sure next week to bring in a copy of critique for each writer and one for Julia, as these are graded.

Critique Sheets You must fill out a critique sheet for each

member of your workshop. You can download extras on the class website. These must be either typed or very legibly written. A copy of each critique must be turned in to Julia, and will be graded.

Critique sheets are designed to provide helpful feedback to each writer, and to demonstrate your own ability to apply craft technique principles to specific pieces of writing.

Critique criteria Sensory detail Characterization Scene versus Summary Reflection and Interpretation Other comments and observations about

the work

Critique Critique should be specific and use

examples in the text to back up your feedback.

Don’t: This piece has good sensory detailDo: On page 3 when the narrator describes

the red and blue quilt on her bed, the description works well with the theme of patriotism in the piece, but is visually vague and could use more description.

Critique CharacterizationDon’t: The mother is very clearDo: The scene in which the narrator overhears

her mother crying in the bathroom on p. 4 shows that her mother is more vulnerable than she lets on and is a good example of direct characterization through action.

Scene and Summary Don’t: This piece has a lot of scenes and not

much summary Do: The most important moment in this

piece is when the brother realizes his sister is in trouble and should be rendered as a scene because it is a critical moment in the overall narrative. It worked well, though, to summarize the narrator’s childhood because it provides good background for his actions later.

Reflection/Interpretation

Don’t: This piece seems like it’s about love Do: This piece is asking the question about

whether you can love someone who will never love you back and that theme could be strengthened by developing the metaphor of the uncle’s garden where no matter how hard he tries his daffodils always end up dying.

Other Read closely for examples of diction and

poetics, for places in the text that you can observe either successful writing or areas for improvement

Don’t: This is good Do: The use of simile throughout the piece,

as for example on pages 6,8 and 11, help show that the narrator is looking for adult role models. You could tighten up the description of her dog on page 3, maybe by losing the paragraph that begins: “His tail wagged and wagged for hours.”

Workshop ProtocolFIVE GOLDEN RULES

1. Please read each workshop piece at least twice. Reserve the second reading for marking notes and filling out critique sheets.

2. The workshop focus is on the work itself, not the readers’ reaction to the work. For this reason, restrict subjective praise or criticism.

3. Each member of the class is expected to offer observations and questions about the piece, and to provide a written critique, using the provided critique sheets. Be specific.

4. The author should use the workshop time to listen to the observations about the piece. Each author will have the opportunity to ask any unaddressed questions about the piece.

5. The goal of workshop is to provide each author with feedback that can be used to strengthen the work for the craft elements of creative nonfiction. While grammatical and spelling errors need to be addressed by the author, they are not the prime focus of the workshop process.