Essay Three – Memoirs

INTRODUCTION

The quality of a text may be judged not only by its authentic portrayal of flux which is inherent to the human experience, but also the collision of this phenomenon with elements of life that both stifle, and accelerate it.¹ This is undoubtedly true of the memoir by Malala Yousafzai, I am Malala, which presents the story of a young girl straining for social change under a rigidly oppressive Taliban regime. Conversely, the story of the second generation Cambodian migrant to Australia, Alice Pung, in her memoir, Unpolished Gem, demonstrates a struggle against the drastic change forced upon her family which rendered her on a quest for stability.² Nonetheless, these two texts mutually reinforce the universal impact of economic hardship, gender norms, cultural juxtaposition and filial relationships on one’s navigation through the tumultuousness of life. The quality of these authors’ works can thus be said to derive from their exploration of the change which occurs in their lives which they navigate and attempt to control, but which is inevitably accompanied by elements of continuity.

1.This essay question is evidently very simple – don’t fall into the trap of matching its simplicity! Think really hard about a way that you can thoroughly explore its limits, and take advantage of its generality to craft something specific to your strengths and what you find most interesting in the texts.

2. Comparisons like this can be introduced as fundamental points of comparison for the texts, which will establish strong premises adding depth to your subsequent analysis.

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In both texts, readers are led to deeply appreciate the economic strain which plays a prominent feature in the capacity for change in the lives of the protagonists and their families.³ Ping uses humour to evoke this concept, introducing her family at the start of the book “in their De Paul finery, exclusive new arrivals from the St Vincent line.” Contrasting this sarcastic cultural reference after a linear progression of the family’s fortunes throughout the book, she says, “gone now were the days where a one-dollar plastic born vinyl coat was a birthday present from the government.” Here, Pung creates a sense of familiarity with an audience which would presumably be largely Australian, understanding the socio-economic implications of shopping at St Vincent de Paul’s.⁴ The quality of Pung’s writing consequently derives from her portrayal of a family stoic enough to build their lives beyond the meagre means they were first afforded in a brand new country. Yousafzai’s memoir similarly⁵ demonstrates a transcendence from material limitations, saying “The Taliban could take our pens and books, but they couldn’t stop our minds from thinking.” By contrasting the material objects conventionally portrayed as necessary for learning, with the power simply of a determined intellect, Yousafzai joins Pung⁶ in a rejection of the idea that material limitations constitute unsurpassable inhibitions in one’s progression through life.⁷

3. Generalised pre-prepared themes like this might feel hard to apply to a question. This is where planning comes in – when you get into an exam and see the essay prompt, you have to think about how you want to frame it in terms of your analysis, and you can turn it into a seamless exposé on the factors which influence change, rather than what the change itself is which might seem the obvious route. In short, if you spend more time unpacking the prompt’s implications, you will be rewarded!

4. Reference to audience like this will often make for a sophisticated analysis of authorial intent.

5. After making an incisive comment about Pung’s memoir overall, we can easily transition to a point of similarity in the second text, using authorial intent to connect the two.

6. Consistent use of comparative and linking language like this aids in integrating the texts, ultimately contributing to a very efficient and impressive essay structure.

7. Note that you can also reinterpret (within reason) the meaning of key words in the question – here I have posited that change also means conventional lineal progression through life, changing from one stage to the next.

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Gender roles arise in both texts as a prevalent imposition on the process of change for a range of characters, engaging readers with this highly contentious and recognisable phenomenon. Pung’s mother, a wellrounded character who readers are deeply engaged with,⁸ despairs that her new life in Australia did not bring the happiness she anticipated, writing in a hypothetical letter to her own mother, “Dear Ma, this family treats me like a servant, like that servant Red Bean that they brought back from China.”⁹ The use of a simile comparing her position to that of a servant9 whose nickname possesses connotations of mockery, emphasises her feeling of shame and disappointment that her supposed progression has rendered her at the lower ranks of the society she departed from given her domestic duties as a woman. Contrastingly, Malala protests fiercely against the patriarchal norms which seek to render her ignorant, saying “when we decorated our hands with henna for holidays and weddings, we drew calculus formulae instead of flowers and butterflies.” Using the cultural reference of henna to establish the setting of the scene for largely Western audiences, she subverts the symbols of femininity imbued in a female practice, with those of mathematics which are stereotypically associated with the educated, rational male. Malala thus embraces her femininity in a way that she feels expresses herself, thus empowering herself through her gender, while acknowledging the inhibiting effect it may have on people such as Pung’s mother.

8. When using slightly un-conventional language which could be misinterpreted, it is worth incorporating a little definition so that markers understand where you’re coming from. However, you wouldn’t have to define something like a metaphor, for example.

9. It is similarly very useful to pin point the textual example you’re pulling your technique from. Here, even though the simile may seem too obvious to explain, just taking a few words to do so will demonstrate that you understand what you are talking about.

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Both texts emphasise the cultural juxtapositions necessarily encountered by people forced to leave the turmoil of their homelands, providing many readers with new insights into this transitory experience. When Pung’s young Aunty attempts to borrow the phone of a neighbour and is assaulted, she reflects that “it is not safe here, and even though you are young and lovely you are not invincible.” By employing high modality and a sombre tone, Pung describes the naivety of her family in the face of a culture which was unaccustomed to the high levels of non-white immigration that was beginning to take place at this time,¹⁰ in which individuals may take advantage of such naivety. I am Malala¹¹ reflects a similar disappointment as her family navigates the culture shock of their neighbours’ cold attitudes, saying “We are just a wall’s distance from the next house but it feels miles away.”. Contrasting the physical and emotional proximity of their local community, Yousafzai evokes the loneliness felt by a family unaccustomed to the insularity of the culture they now reside amongst. To this end, both authors¹² allow readers a rare insight into the emotionally tolling cultural transitions undergone by people who find themselves in communities where they do not feel safe or accepted.

10. Here, we’re using historical context to surmise possible frames for the story.

11. To vary your writing, you can talk about what the text accomplishes in addition to what the authors set out to do.

12. Again, concluding a body paragraph with a comparative connection between the two texts is a great way to conclude a sub-argument and take the discussion back to the prompt, and the core of your thesis.

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The prominence of filial relationships in the lives of Pung and Yousafzai are evoked through the development of characters throughout their texts as readers appreciate their pivotal influence on personal and social change. In Unpolished Gem, her mother is intermittently portrayed as an antagonist¹³ who places undue pressure on Pung, providing the advice through use of dialogue,¹⁴ “Agheare you have to be fierce” against those who would try to make her work too hard. Pung uses contradiction in her Aunt’s subsequent advice, “But you can’t be lazy either,” to demonstrate the breadth of values she is implored to adhere to, whose pressures recur throughout the book as both drivers, and inhibitions of her ideas about “how to see the world” through such didactic stories, as she discusses in an interview.¹⁵ The character development of Malala’s father and co-protagonist, Ziauddin, is similar in his influence of her personally, but also in her wider struggle for the overhaul of education inequality. We are first introduced to him in the prologue¹⁶ of the memoir, where Malala describes her shooting by the Taliban, reflecting that “In my dreams about the shooting, my father is also in the bus and he is shot with me.”. By morphing the reality of such a pivotal moment in her story using flashback to her dreams, Malala strongly implies the affinity she shares with her father in what she views as a shared struggle. We thus glean from the filial relationships portrayed through character development in both books, not only their impact on personal evolution, but also the social change evoked from the values they imbue their children with.

13. Characters do not have to uphold their status the whole way through the text. It is perfectly fine to comment on how they are presented to us at certain points throughout the memoir, especially when there is a first person or unreliable narrator, and we are not provided with all of the information about each character right away.

14. Even though the individuals in memoirs are (usually) real people, the fact that you are studying the construction of the text means you should aim to talk about characters as authorial constructions. In other words, talk about how characters are depicted, and about how their language is framed by the author. It can also be worth drawing distinctions between the characters (e.g. Alice and Malala) and the authors (Pung and Yousafzai).

15. Incorporation of external materials to qualify authorial intent.

16. Using beginning/end placement as a part of your analysis is an easy way to imbue added complexity, as this choice on the part of the author will always have some kind of significance in the text.

CONCLUSION

Thus while change remains an inherent part of texts of quality, it is the plethora of factors acting to inhibit or morph it which provide the objects of interest for readers. For Malala and Pung, these factors culminated in the economic hardship, gender norms, cultural adaptions, and filial relationships which moulded the manifestation of their personal and social development. Audiences are thus given a valuable insight through the exploration of these ideas, into two lives subjected to great upheaval both forced and fought for.