Recount Of The Past In Vance's Memoir

The truth is sacred. One of the most important aspects of a memoir, or any recount of the past, is a truth. Without that, then the writing is rendered pointless. Why should people be expected read thousands of words that promise truth if none or most of them are? This is why a reliable narrator is vital to memoirs. We are not privy to the author’s past. We cannot look it up quickly to ease our qualms. So, we rely on the narrator to provide us with the most honest truth he or she can. Vance did an excellent job of remaining honest throughout his memoir while displaying a wide variety of events. Despite the fact that memories are usually inconsistent, Vance continued to tell a truthful story about his life and the crisis he noticed around him.

He dealt with it first hand. The memoir is about those experiences. Bev, Vance’s mother, is a prime example of the horrible outcomes of this culture. She had a bright future, but the environment she lived in was not going to help facilitate her promise. Despite his mother failing occasionally as a person and parent figure, he forgives and understands her past. The violent environment during her youth shaped her to become an outcome of that. The decaying culture she lives in shaped her to become an outcome of that. He forgives his mother, but he does not excuse her behavior. He explains, “She tried desperately to be a good mother. Sometimes she succeeded; sometimes she didn’t . . . but she listened too much to the wrong voice in her head. But Mom deserves much of the blame. No person’s childhood gives him or her a perpetual moral get-out-of-jail-free card” (Vance 232). Vance both accuses and forgives her in this scenario. He recognizes what the culture he came from can do, but also doesn’t allow that to make justifications. His accusation and forgiveness parallel his argument that his people need to change their habits and culture. Culture can become a barrier if it devolves into something