The Glass Castle Post #1: Reflections on Truth-Telling

I think that Jeanette had to make up the beginning of the book, concerning certain specifics of her childhood, or she at least filled in some of her memories with details that would make the reading more interesting. After the introductory part, "A Woman On The Street", Walls flashes back all the way to the age of three. She says that it was her earliest memory, yet Walls describes this scene in such clarity and detail, as if it was just yesterday. "I was standing on a chair in front of the stove, wearing a pink dress my grandmother had bought for me. Pink was my favorite color. The dress's skirt stuck out like a tutu, and I liked to spin around in front of the mirror, thinking I looked like a ballerina. But at that moment, I was wearing the dress to cook hot dogs, watching them swell and bob in the boiling water as the late-morning sunlight filtered in through the trailer's small kitchenette window" (Walls). This seems awfully specific for a memory from when she was three. I certainly do not have any memories that are so specific from such a young age. 

Again, on page 29 and 30, Jeanette has a very specific detail that she mentions. "When Mom and Dad came out of the Bar None Bar, they brought us each a long piece of beef jerky and a candy bar. I ate the jerky first, and by the time I unwrapped my Mounds bar, it had melted into a brown gooey mess, so I decided to see it until night, when the desert would harden it up again" (Walls). Walls is only four years old when this was to happen, however she seems to know exactly how this somewhat insignificant course of events.

I believe that Jeanette used such detail, despite not knowing if all of it is one hundred percent true, because it sets a scene for the reader. It allows the reader to imagine exactly what was going on for Jeanette, as if the reader was there with her. In addition, details like these make the writing seem more personal. The reader feels as if they can connect to the writer when the writer seems like a real person. Sometimes readers can forget that the author is an ordinary person, just like them, and small details such as the ones used by Jeanette make a writer seem more normal and real.

A benefit of filling in memories for my own writing would be, similarly to how Jeanette used it, to allow the reader to create a vivid image of the scene. Descriptive language, as we learned in class, is so much more interesting to read than just direct statements. Although I may not remember exactly what happened in a certain part of my life, if I exaggerate blurry details of that memory, it will make my writing more intriguing and less dull. Details can make even mundane tasks seem more interesting.

On the other hand, filling in memories and exaggerating may be a disadvantage in certain scenarios for my writing. For example, if I were to exaggerate too much it may seem unrealistic and the reader would be skeptical of the truth to the story, considering everyone in class is a student who have most likely has not had majorly exciting events happen, unlike the professional writers who have written these memoirs.

Overall, I think that I could use exaggerations and memory fill-ins to my advantage in my writing, as long as it is spaced out and not too overdramatic.