Thursday, October 8, 2009

Memoir versus Biography

Memoirs are written in the first person point of view by an author who provides readers with a personal view of his/her life. How is this a different reading experience than reading a biography, which is written in 3rd person point of view about someone else's life?

60 comments:

  1. A memoir is a more personal account of one's life, while a bio is more informational, perhaps more drab. Further, a memoir could lend more insight, whereas a bio usually just states the facts.

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  2. well mine actually wasnt like that it was more of a play describing the reactions of people who saw the towers attacked

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  3. i also think that biographys give you facts while memoirs give you fellings

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  4. I like it better because you get a better sense of how the characters feel, even if you are reading a fiction novel written in the first person. I like memoirs better than a biography because its more real! You know the authors heartache and physical pain, instead of just facts dates like in a biography.

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  5. I like memoirs better because its usually more fun listening to an event in somebodies life than every fact about them.

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  6. A memoir tells the story of one's life in more depth. Biographies are more about getting the factual information out. Memoir's are usually more interesting to read, as they are more juicy. Whereas Biography's tell the story of someone's life with no real thought or feelings about it.

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  7. Biographies go over a full life while memoirs go over a specific period of time. Also memoirs are written by the person who has the experience and biographies are written abut a person by author.

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  8. Memoirs are more of a personal look into someones life. Biographies are mostly just how someone did this and then did that but in memoirs it shows you how someone felt after doing that.

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  9. i believe that a memoir has a deeper connection. also it shows in the memoir that the author is having a lot of fun writing about there own adventures other than made up ones, or ones he wasn't there to actually experience.

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  10. @ Chris and Letitia: Bio's usually merely give the facts, but every now and again there's one that is written by a close friend of the person, so it's a more detailed and colorful account. So they don't necessarily just give you the facts. Only sometimes.

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  11. Memoir's are definitely more fun to read; they are juicier and more in depth than biographies. Biographies are good for reports, but memoir's are good for free reading.

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  12. well chazz i agree but 9 times out of 10 a memoir is going to be more pesonal then a bio just saying

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  13. Agreed. I'd go with 8 times out of 10, but nonetheless...

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  14. I think that when you are reading a memoir it is more personal because it actually happened to them. When you are reading a biography it is more informational because it has never actually happened to the person.

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  15. I think that memoirs are written better because they are written as it happened and the writer does not comment on their good ideas bad ideas etc. In my opinion memoirs are more fun to read and have a little more action.

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  16. @ Ryan: that's how the expression goes bro

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  17. I think that reading about someones own personal life is better that reading about someone else's life.

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  18. i think memoirs are better the bio

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  19. Well some people are like obsessed with people's lives so then they write about them.

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  20. guys i dont even know what you are talking about anymore. hmmmmmmmmmmm

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  21. okay... i agree with charlie. because Bio's usually merely give the facts

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  22. yeah, Annie. Agreed

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  23. no a bio is infomational and a memoir is more personal @ ryan

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  24. @ Ryan: No, a memoir is written specifically about one's life, while a bio is written about another's life, often someone famous

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  25. Sarah: Yeah, I'd rather write about myself than some other person.

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  26. thank you chris, i mean they know themselves better than a friend could ever know them, and if they think that they are sooooo high and mighty that they deserve to have a book written solely about them, they should do it themselves!

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  27. letitia! uhhhh i actually agree with you!!!

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  28. Bye friends! If i don't make it out remember i love you all....adios!

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  29. i think that i like memoirs more than the biographies.

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  30. memoirs are cooler than biographies because biographies are more like facts about the persons life. thats kind of boring. memoirs are stories which are way cooler than facts

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  31. I like memoirs 'cause they are original and usually funnier!

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  32. I believe that memoirs are often more interesting, personal, and honest than biographies. This is because the person who writes the memoir, knows much more about himself than somebody else does. And if someone else writes the story of someones life other than themselves, it becomes a biography. So, all in all, I believe that memoirs tend to be more interesting than biographies.

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  33. It is different because it is really how the actual person thought and how they feel. When it is a biography it is more facts not exactly the real deal. In a memoir you can get closer to the person because it is really them. I like memoirs more than biographies.

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  34. Memoirs have a more personal view than biographies. when people write about someone elses life they dont really know everything. memoirs are written by the actual character and are much more interesting

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  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  36. memoirs are different from biographys because in memoirs they say what they are thinking about and it gives more detail

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  37. My memoir was more of a journal for the main character to reminisce on what the morals of his professor were. A biography isn't as open and personal, or doesn't have the inside thoughts, of the main character mostly because the writer isn't the main character.

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  38. memoirs and more interesting and a lot better because biography s are usually written by old people and usually they just go on and on(i don't have anything against old people BTW)

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  39. Memoirs have a lot more feeling in it, because it is written by the author, and he is putting in his life stories. Biographies are written by someone else instead of the actually so it is lacking the personal feel, and is more straight facts.

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  40. I think that memoirs are alot more fun to read because I think that they make you feel like you are in the book. Biographies are more informative and make you feel like you are just watching the person live thier life.

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  41. a biography is written by other people usually stating facts. reading from the authors point of view on his on memory and life is much different. It tells what people think of how things happened to them. how they see there self's. not at how a reporter of interviewer would exaggerate or try to retell there story from "what they heard".

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  42. Biographies are better for info papers in school. other than that like for free read, memoirs are definitely better since they are in story form. ;-) (winking emoticon!!)

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  43. josh i disagree. I think memoirs are better for a paper since the author has written it about himself, so you get all the details

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  44. When I'm reading a book written in the 1st person I feel as though I become closer to the characters because i feels like they are talking to me. I like memoirs more than biographies because with memoirs the author is writing about specific times in their life so they can write how they feel. In a biography the author writing the memoir can't explain how the person they are writing about feels

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  45. well you just be a little party pooper mister zachary hunter buettner!!!!!!!
    if you want to do a school paper, then u use a biography. memoirs are meant for fun read!!!!!!!


    B-) (sunglasses!!!)

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  46. i think josh and zach should stop fighting

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  47. I pretty much agree with everyone, and yea I like memoirs more than bios. for free reading, but bios. have lots of facts about a persons life, so they can be helpful for projects.

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  48. I enjoy memoirs the best! I love the fact that the author of the book is talking to you, telling you about him/her life in the first person. I find biographies to be boring in some cases because number one they are not written by the actual person who experienced the events that the author is writing about. And number two In my opinion I tend to enjoy books in first person more so of course that makes me more geared toward memoirs.

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