Author's voice

Upon writing the narrative for the Zeitoun assignment I put a lot of thought into how much of my voice, as the author, I want to be heard by the readers. Eggers voice was barely there but detectable in subcontext. For example, during the scene where Zeitoun was brought to the Greyhound station and held captive. It was evident that Eggers looked down upon all the officials who allowed that to happen. It was also apparent that he was appalled by this, enough so to spend a whole section of the book on this one event. As an author of a narrative I had to choose what issue I wanted to bring to light and how much of my opinions I wanted to share. I didn't feel right imposing on the story that I used as my basic guideline. After all, I was in Connecticut watching the disaster unfold on television screens while Philipp Meyer was in New Orleans providing aid to victims. I knew I wanted to add in some expository writing about the health care system of New Orleans, but I wasn't sure of how much. Unlike Zeitoun, I wanted to inform readers, like myself, who weren't able to experience the disaster, of facts as well as providing an entertaining story. I decided to start the narrative off with Phillip Meyer's story and then stop at a point of suspense to ensure the reader will continue reading. At the point I added in some facts about the health care system of New Orleans and how Hurricane Katrina affected it. I found a perfect place to pick up with and finish Meyer's story. I am pleased with how the narrative came together and I hope others enjoy it as well.

Katrina Assigment

I was reviewing the assignment and wanted to put my questions and concerns into writing before I forget them for class tomorrow. I found a great article of a personal account and I have a very interesting idea for the assignment, however I feel like it will be difficult because the story is already written. Eggers listened to Zeitoun and could therefore create his own story. I read this person's personal account so I feel it may be difficult writing in a different way. I'll have to try to look at it from a different perspective. Using a personal story is tricky as well because I know I'll want to change it and make it a little different just for the purpose of keeping the reader's attention but by doing so I almost feel as if I'm undermining the person's experiences. I can see the difficulties Egger's could have face while going about writing the story. Everyone hates when they read an awesome book and it comes out on movie and the movie is totally different. I wouldn't want to be the author that totally changes the idea of the story. It's going to take serious thought and creativity to successfully rewrite the experiences of people. I think a good way to go about doing it is to use the one man's personal account as the basis of the story but incorporate other facts or stories from other victims' experiences to change it up. I'll obviously have to note that in the author's decision part of the paper though so that people know I changed the story. Being and author is definitely not all fun and games!

Katrina Research

I would just like to take some time to reflect on the research I've been doing on Hurricane Katrina. I knew the severity of the disaster was unlike anything before it, but it doesn't become real until you see photographs or read personal accounts. News stories simply don't do justice for the people of New Orleans. Up until now I knew only what was in the news. I hadn't gone out of my way to read personal accounts or blogs of Hurricane Katrina victims. I am actually glad I've been assigned to finally do so because my eyes have been opened to much more. I feel like I now have a much deeper understanding of what occurred in 2005. It's easy for us, as outsiders, to have sympathy for the millions of people that lost everything to Hurricane Katrina but it's hard to have empathy. After reading these personal accounts I can now say I thought I had empathy but there's no way I felt the same way I do now. One of the articles I read was written by an EMT who stayed and lent help for as long as he could. However, unlike Zeitoun, he knew in order to live he had to leave the city. He left before it was too late and had to live with the regret of that decision. Thousands of people had to make the hardest decisions of their lives during that time. Through my research I have also learned that despite the passing of five years, New Orleans is not nearly close to being back to "normal." Thousands of people are still struggling to live and are still homeless. The city has made immense progress but still has a lot of work to do. We can only hope a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina is a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Dave Eggers

During class I began to form more of an opinion of Eggers as an author. He apparently has the ability to alter his style of writing as we saw when we compared two of his works. After our discussion about Eggers in class someone mentioned that they found a lot of criticism concerning his books. I grew curious and did some googling of my own. I personally was not a fan of the introduction that Eggers put, at least the short part I read, in the beginning of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. To me it basically discredited everything that was to follow. I don't think I would continue reading the novel after having read the introduction. Now knowing that Eggers stretched the truth so heavily in one of his previous works, I begin to question the facts in Zeitoun. Not to mention, I had not previously questioned the fact that Zeitoun's account were all from memory. It's not like he wrote a diary or kept records of his experiences. Therefore, I now find it hard to believe that all the dates and times in the book are completely accurate. While looking at criticism of Zeitoun from other sources I came across a review by New York Times. One part in particular stuck with me. The review read, "He does it without any writerly triple-lutzes or winks of post modern irony. There are no rants against President Bush, no cheap shots at the authorities who let this city drown." I completely disagree with this. I believe Eggers' voice was strongest when Zeitoun arrived at Camp Greyhound and when he was held captive there. I definitely believe he blames the Bush Administration and that his political views show through. There is an obvious attempt to hide his authorial voice but it is there nonetheless.