Bell Hooks: Writing Autobiography
Summary:
In this brief essay, Hooks details for the reader her experience writing her autobiography. Although it is a short piece, it is very intimate and provides a working image of the author, her life, and her writing processes.
Sample Questions
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
1.
What does hooks mean when she writes that she
wanted to “kill” her self through her writing?
This concept actually made me really sad--I understood it as her deliberate attempt to erase the person she was, or rather, erase that persons experiences so that a new person would evolve. I intimately connect and understand with this desire to "kill though writing," but nonetheless, it is painful for one to want to destroy any part of themselves, even their past selves. By the end of the essay, you can see that that death has been reshaped, redefined into birth; so for Hooks, her process of autobiographical destruction was actually the life force for the creation of something new.
2.
Define bio-mythography. Is hooks’ work an
example of bio-mythography? Why or why not?
I would define "bio-mythography" as the act of combining reality with fiction, not always consciously, in order to fully realize a moment in time. From the essay Hooks gives us, it is clear that during her process she realized she was fictionalizing some of her memories, but it is not clear as to whether or not she went back and rewrote them. Without further evidence, I am unwilling to commit an answer in the affirmative.
Applying and Exploring Ideas:
Have you ever had to change your identity for
something that you needed to write? How does this relate to McCloud’s mask?
Well, this blog is a good example! My full name, where I teach, who my peers and colleagues are, these are things I eliminate from this blog as a way to "protect my identity." For me, I wouldn't necessarily say I am wearing one of McCloud's "masks," it is more like a screen that I am placing in front of myself that provides anonymity--almost like a confessional--I sit on one side of the screen and type out my confessions of a graduate student/teacher/human being and the on the other side of the screen sits my priest, my audience, and I hope they will forgive me for my errors and mistakes...maybe even provide me with penance and solace.
I am moved by your comments. it is sad and painful, especially since hooks is still keeping the family secrets from the reader, but by the end this is recovery of a sort rather than a death. Makes me think of how both Alexie and MX link literacy to survival. Alexie more blatantly, but for X, I can imagine that the effects of prison on him would have been very different had he not become absorbed in his reading. For hooks, it is writing that is elemental to her survival.
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