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Zinsser's Memoirs

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In “How to Write a Memoir” William Zinsser writes about his memories but he also give great specific advice. “Be Yourself”, “Speak Freely”, and “Think Small” are some of Zinsser’s best pieces of advice. Most memoirs do not follow his advice. Unlike those memoirs “A Summer Life” by Gary Soto follows all three of pieces of advice as he explains in a child’s point of view, says exactly how he remembers ,and tells small structured stories. Zinsser states that the best memoirs are described through the eyes of a child. Soto does this perfectly. In the chapter “Magic Tricks”(page 26) Gary says “ “How did you do that?” I coughed a dry cough three times but only the sour smell of just eaten pickles issued through my mouth.” This line tells how a young Gary tried to understand but could not. The reader …show more content…
This means do not worry what other people think of your memoir. Zinsser stated that if someone cared so much about your memoir, they can write their own. Gary did just that in his chapter “The Confession”(page 61). Gary didn’t even think about what the priest would say or do. Gary, most likely, did not call his childhood priest and sais “Hey! You want to be in my memoir? ”.Soto writes how things really happened. Last but not least, ”Think Small”. Gary Soto follows this advice as he not only tell multiple stories but his memoir (A Summer Life) has three parts to it. Not one, not two ,but three parts! Gary’s short memories with short head titles so that a reader knows what they are about to read about. His small memories show the reader the “contained universal truth” as Zinsser says in “How to Write a Memoir” paragraph 23. “A Summer Life” is a memoir that Zinsser would be proud of. Gary followed all three of his advice of writing a good memoir. Most memoirs do not follow Zinsser’s advice but Gary did a well job. The idea of a memoir is not how people look it but how you remember

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