Meredith Hall’s poignant memoir, Without a Map, tells the story of her bizarre, sorrow-filled life, a life that could have—and almost certainly would have—been different, had she not gotten pregnant at 16, in 1965, coerced in to having “scared sex on a beach on a foggy Labor Day night” (Hall xxvii). The story that follows is the story of a girl, shunned by her town, her friends, and slowly, eventually abandoned by her family, by first her mother, then her father. Exiled, scared, and lonely, she makes her way out into the world, quite literally—world being the operative word—babyless and parentless, to live an extraordinary life woven with adventure, as well as stretches of monotony.
I intend to examine the American idea of the family, how it has progressed, what it means now, how it is the common foundation for any person’s social binds, using Hall’s memoir as a building block for the exploration of the impacts of exile and disownment—the isolation of the human being from social ties, the most crucial and important of which being the institution of the family. Although Hall lives, at least at times, an effervescent, vivacious life, a life that, when she is asked, she claims she wouldn’t choose differently, the effects of having been cast out from her originally intended life have repercussions that emanate most clearly, never entirely dissipating.
This topic is significant because the institution of family, although, like all institutions, is constantly in flux, ever-changing, it remains, always, the most important social tie to human development and evolution. In Without a Map, Meredith and her first son are both incongruities from the norm (that I expect to find with research) in the sense that they both turn out well, considering their extreme childhood circumstances.
I like your proposal idea! Family, especially in America has for so long been branded as one single unchangeing unit, with mom, dad and 2.5 kids, but in reality it is often so different from that. Plus you have a secondary source already; Bechdel's "Family Tragicomic". I wonder if it is possible to use a sitcom as a source? Because Modern Family would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is your argument about exile and disownment in the memoir? I like your emphasis of the word "world" because it suggests that the notion of mapping will be key for your analysis. Great opportunity to connect the book's title to its messages!
ReplyDeleteYou mention that "Hall lives...an effervescent, vivacious life," and that there are effects from her being disowned. Would you say that the memoir takes a more complicated view of exile than you might expect? By this I mean does Hall's book suggest that exile (or maybe writing about exile) can be a positive force (or at least not 100% negative)?