Wideman Vs. Limerick Essay example -- essays research papers

John Edgar Widemans Our Time, and Patricia Nelson Limericks Empire of Innocence, are two very antithetic stories about one particular alkali. In these selections both authors are writing history. Wideman is writing the history of his brothers life, and Limerick is writing the history of the old west. Although the theme is the same, the two authors styles, methods, and writing concerns differ greatly. In the following passage from Our Time, John is visiting his brother, Robby, in prison. While listening to Robbys story, John begins to foreland the type of book this project will becomeThe business of making a book together was new for both of us. Difficult. Awkward. Another book could be constructed about a writer who goes to a prison to interview his bother but comes away with his own story.the inevitible conflict between his role as detached observer and his responsibility as a brother would be at the center of such a book. When I stopped hearing Robby and listened to myself list ening, that mannikin of book shouldered its way into my consciousness. I didnt like that feeling. That book compromised the intimacy I wanted to achieve with my brother. (Wideman p. 723)This passage stresses the concern Wideman expresses on how to come upon this book the type of book he wants to present. Later in the selection the answer to this problem appears.Still listening to Robbys story, John discovers their recollections of th...