Lifting the Veil
- His memoir is titled: Colored People, written because he was grieving for his mother
- He shares various memories of places and the people that the places reminded him of
- He wrote about these memories in form of a letter to his daughter and it turned out to be his first draft of her memoir
- Whether or not to add various personal aspects is a question, what will you feel comfortable sharing to the public and what will you not feel comfortable sharing
- Thinking deeply about one’s past and past relationships can bring up a lot
- Writing a memoir: “Be prepared for the revelation of things you don’t even dream are going to come up”
- I didn’t realize so much thought went into writing a memoir; all the different things which must be considered
- You write for yourself
- Censorship should or shouldn’t be
The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?”
- Identity based solely on everything around you? Not primarily what is ‘inside’ you?
- Questioning identity occurs greatly during adolescence
- Identity affects all choices
- When describing oneself, people do not tend to express the parts of themselves that are more apparent to other people: A female will not say she is female but rather focus on other non-physical qualities → not the obvious
- What makes someone ‘the other’ is more apparent when it comes to identity because that is how one is perceived on the outside
- Advantages and disadvantages to the perceived identity
- Dominants and subordinates
- Comes down to survival and the basic human principles of life
- Limitations both physical and psychological
Alice Unkrich Composing Self 