Throughout this memoir, the voice and tone is mature and very serious. We see this through the conversations amongst the entire book, between all the characters. I think that the maturity of conversation adds to the seriousness and severity of the times and the experiences of Miriam and her mother. It helps the reader to indulge in the unfortunate and sad mood. The conversation is mainly due to the age of the people in this memoir, but it is important to note that these conversations are being reinvented through the eyes of Miriam as a child. With content such as "You swine. I know where your Jew whore is hiding!" (pg.64). This goes to show that Miriam, as a child, didn't have the luxury of being sheltered from the aggressive language and the traumatic events that follow. Overall, the voice and tone of the book is a reflection of the circumstances: blunt, uncontrolled, and violent.
Heres a link below about the uses of tone in writing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y1nkEf0rAM
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI think it is also worth mentioning that the perhaps Miriam's memoir contains an element of invention. There are certain scenes throughout the memoir that Miriam would have absolutely no way of knowing such as the between the Nazi soldier and his wife regarding Esther. It is possible that Miriam formulates these scenes according to how she now, as an adult, imagines they would play out. I agree that the voice and tone of the memoir promote a sense of seriousness and allow the reader to immerse themselves into the grim experiences to Miriam endured.
I have attached a link that gives helpful tips on how to use voice to make a memoir memorable.
http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-books/finding-your-memoirs-voice