From the outset we are intrigued by the notion that Price is going to describe a man, his uncle Mac (Make), as a man who has "found peace in a lifetime's work." This is a universal consideration--how to find a good work--and from the beginning the reader is hooked. Why? Because we all work or have had jobs we hate and the prospect of a life of more and more jobs we hate is daunting. That's why we're in college. But even college has its moments of drudgery and "warm spit" knowledge production so our ears are pricked by what Price is going to say about his uncle.
The reader sees from the beginning, Price's adult reflection on what he saw as a child. He tells us reporter-like, what he heard as a child living in these houses in the "pit of the Great Depression": "little snatches of worry about a bill, little dry quick laughs at the specter of loss" (173). The parallel construction of this account reinforced by the normalization of "snatches" and "laughs" and the simple adjective "little" and "dry", help make it concrete, a clean articulation.
Price wants to disabuse us of the fact that it (his family life) might all be about money. That you get to a good work by way of money. That money is what work is all about. Yet Mac, the uncle, described not as "cloistered monk" about it--that is he didn't go around rhapsodizing about the Earth (capital E). He worked. But that was a mediation in itself.
But if they never talked about money then what? He starts by talking about what his uncle is not. So what is he? Why does he want to write about his uncle? It has to have something to do with Mac’s affect on him, Price. The answer starts to come when the boy is alone with his uncle in the store where the men are playing checkers.
Price says: "that was my chance for a swift operation." He wanted something, money to buy a new microscope, from his uncle. He gets his five dollars but that's not the end of it. There is something in the economics between nephew and uncle. We know this because the idea of money has just been brought up and a writer never just brings up an idea just to do it. There has to be some purpose down the line in the piece of writing. Price is giving us clues. His uncle is not about money, but he is obviously about money when it comes to "Ren's" request for money, if what he wanted "sounded 'educational'" (174).
We find out what more it has to do with money and what else when Mac takes the narrator into his tobacco field. We are squarely put into time and place. Price is a wizard at the local. First, its the "fields by the Baptist Church" and then "curing barns, the scene of catfish fries" (175)--all details that center us in that world of Price's childhood summers with his uncle. We see him describe the geography that finally gets us to a particular place at the end of a row of tobacco. Mac asks the boy to identify a row of tobacco that he likes. The boy does and the man says: "'Then it's yours. In late September you watch the mail.'" Price says about his boy character: "I barely understood."
This is the spot in the memoir where the piece makes a turn. We've been hearing about money and about how it's not important. The row of tobacco that he’s told is “yours” is puzzling to the boy. We suspect that it has something to do with the price the tobacco will sell but like Price's boy we sort of understand but we don't.
When the fifty dollar bill comes, they--the boy and his mother and his class at school--are "thunderstruck" (an adjective as simple, concrete, and as visual as they come). What this teaches the boy--and it's how it was done with such forthrightness--is something about "the deep satisfaction of generosity" (176). Price does not merely let this insight sit there on the page but follows it up with how he continued to put his uncle's generosity together as part of "a training in gratitude" (177). In way, a different way, unlike that of a Virgil, his uncle's bucolic knowingness gets translated for the boy into a practical skill of how to live in the world with those you love and those who love you. And his question for this short memoir? How do I live with the fact that I have been given so much by the people who love me?
--Dr. A
Through reading Price's memoir the most mesmorizing thing about his writing is the way he is able to paint pictures for his audience through his words. The description of Price gives of a rural southern town suffering through a depression can easily be seen through his adjectives. His work is also so honest when recalling the "two different worlds" that blacks and whites lived in at this time peroid. But even through this racial war zone, Price does a good job of not bashing his southern roots. In fact he paints a positive picture of the his home.
ReplyDeleteSomething else nice about the message that Price gets out through his memoir that is: love life and appreciate everything you have, is how positive it leaves the reader feeling. Dr. Archibald brings up a good question, how can you possibly thank someone who has given the world to you? I immediately think of my parents who did everything they could for me and my sisters. As a little kid, you do not appreciate anything, at least I didnt. Then, as I got older I started to thank them for the big things they did for us, Christmas presents, vacations, new clothes. Now, since Ive been living on my own and having to do / pay for everything, I realize how truley much my parents actually did for me. Price's memoir made me reflect on that.
It's interesting to notice how Price ends up organizing his memoir: a reflection of past events followed by why these past events were so important. It was a significant time in Price's life in which "the dignified silence of his [Mac's] giving taught me [Price] volumes about the difficulties and duties of receiving" (177). Along with him asking how he can live with the fact that he has been given so much by the people who love him, Price must also ask himself: "How can I show gratitude through receiving?" and "How can I continue to better my life without the expectation of a monetary reward?" Price sets the scene with the grueling idea of the Great Depression and how most people in his family weren't "in love" with money. But this idea changes by the end of the piece when young Price learns that "generosity can be, not a burden but a real enhancement of mutual care" (177). He slowly learns this and then is left with the questions I mentioned previously. Generosity allows both sides to grow more positive and notice the special bonds forming in any relationship, but young Price had to learn that through the tender care and examples of someone used to such an act (aka Mac).
ReplyDeleteI've been told countless times throughout my college career to show the reader, don't tell them. Price has an incredible nack for doing just that. Whether he's painting a picture of race relations in the south or dropping hints about his Uncle Mac, Price's ability to translate his experiences to the reader is something I'm trying to develop myself. A standout example of this is when he creates the little scene about Emma Egerton throwing a bucket of water in a stanger's face. Not only does that quick scene provide commentary on Emma, it also says so much about race relations of the time. It's amazing how much we understand from just that one paragraph.
ReplyDeleteWhat interested me about Price's memoir was how vividly he captured the characters, even minor ones like Emma. Price doesn't only describe the characters appearances, but he describes their quirks and mannerisms as well. Thus, the characters come to life. In addition, he does a great job at scene-setting, especially in two of the memoir's most important scenes- the scene in the tobacco field and the scene where Price receives the fifty bucks from his Uncle Mac.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Price makes the themes of his memoir very clear. It's about family generosity and money. Though he mentions money a lot, Price doesn't reflect on it until after he receives the fifty bucks from Mac. After he gets it, Price starts reflecting on Uncle Mac's generosity, the effects his generosity had on him, and the different ways in which he started viewing his Uncle and their relationship. Without Price's reflection, or the question that Professor Archibald brought up, the memoir would just be about the time Price got fifty bucks from his uncle. Price's reflection on Mac's kind deed in the last couple of paragraphs gives the memoir its resonance. Most people have had people in their lives, family or otherwise, who have given them so much purely out of love and the desire to see them succeed.
It is clear in the end that the theme of this memoir centers on money, however I believe this memoir could also be asking another question: How did my relationship with my uncle Mac shape me? Essentially, this question and the one presented by Dr. Archibald can be answered by the same memoir. Price gives us the lessons he learned about money and understanding family through a series of descriptions and scenes about his Uncle Mac and their relationship. In that way, the audience sees through the eyes of his child self and understands these things for the first time alongside the narrator.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting part about memoirs in general to me, is that even though it's someone else's story, everyone can relate to it one way or another; a memory flashbacks to when we learned about someone's generosity. I did that for this piece.
ReplyDeleteWhat Price succeeds at, is making the subject for his memoir broad enough that we can relate ourselves with it, but also keeping it personal. We learn about the pivotal point when he acknowledges and learns the beauty of caring people. We learn about how even though sometimes things in life are handed, we still have to be thankful that we are given them--they cannot be taken lightly. It's a lesson that all of us has learned at some point. By writing in this manner, he gives us vivid details, and even historical background, which I believe adds even more to the piece. Because of the Great Depression and the views of blacks, earning the money is even more of a grateful topic and one that should not be taken lightly.
Like others have mentioned, the imagery brings us into the text with much brilliance. We know enough but not too much information about the characters--we know what is important, not just pretty filler words.
In re-constructing his setting for himself, and us, in our first trip into his memory, Reynolds Price applies the coloured language of the Carolinas to envelop the reader; using the general speech and hammy colloquialisms of the Southern accent to great, immersive effect. As far as organization goes, the excerpt is a story unto itself, but it would be interesting to see its place in the larger context of a life. As others have noted, the structure of the piece, offering a snippet of in-the-moment experience and then explanation, works well for this short burst, but I wonder if it would be as effective the whole book long. This chapter feels bookended, perfectly conveying the difficulty of being on the receiving end of generosity that whelms.
ReplyDeletePrice is very successful in painting a picture while advancing the growth of himself. He allowed the reader to jump into the text and have a feeling for what life was life for a boy growing up through the depression and after it concluded. Because of the time period and money being such a crucial issue, I felt it was very fitting that money was a theme Price carried throughout. Price also did a nice job of showing how he found himself as a boy. When he realizes who he is and how through the earlier parts he was just an innocent boy. I think this is something that everyone can connect with, as at some point we lost our innocents.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the structure of Price's memoir. I think he does a great job of taking the reader from description of people, place, and time to this epiphany at the end. I enjoyed his descriptions of Mac and how he sets him up as a clearly important person in his life without actually saying it. And then Price walks us through this narrative about spending time with Mac, and I don't know about anyone else, but I was wondering where this was going. I understood that this had to do with money, but I was waiting for it to be about something more, something deeper. Price leaves it with this revelation about what Mac taught him about money, about gratitude: "I'd begun to see at least some of the ways in which generosity can be, not a burden but a real enhancement of mutual care" (177). That is my favorite line from this memoir, and I think it was an appropriate ending to the story. What fascinated me the most is how Price developed his memoir and left the reader with something meaningful and applicable, not just a fun childhood story.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about Price's description is that he doesn't describe the scenery with an overwhelming amount of detail but rather gives us the small pieces of certain places. Somehow these places he points out tap into a memory or an idea we have in our own mind and we can visualize the place Price is talking about. Price also does a good job of subtly setting up the story by giving us the idea of what kind of person his uncle is and how his family views money, because it ties together in the end and we realize the true generosity in this gift from his uncle. Something about Mac saying to him "Be smart" told me as the reader that his generosity really didn't come with any strings attached; it was a gift purely to give his nephew a boost or opportunity. This story made me think of my own uncle, who is similar to Mac, and how often we can take other people's consistent generosity for granted.
ReplyDeleteThe structure of Price's memoir paints a very clear picture of his story. The structure of the piece is very straight forward that brings the reader in very well. It does not jump around or go off track. It shows the development of Price as a young boy and his developing of the relationship with him and Mac. He develops a distinctive Southern Carolina voice through out the piece very well. The imagery and scenery he creates is very well described and imagined. This most pivatal scene for me that demostrates his ability to create a scene is when he was showing the $50 bill to his class. Not only does this scene have a good sense of imagery, Price also tells the reader how much more that $50 bill would be worth today. This adds a great deal more to the authenticity of the memoir and also shows how Price is living through this memory once again instead of just retelling a story from his youth.
ReplyDelete-Todd Breitenbach
Price talks about how unimportant money has always been to his family. So until Mac started sending him money, he never had any. I think Price talks about this part of his life because it’s a first for him. He can buy these trinkets and whatnot. I believe this story is important to Price because it’s a turning point for him.
ReplyDeleteI think that Price is looking to see how his time with Mac influenced him. He sets up Mac as this monk-like salt-of-the-earth type of character to whom money is totally unimportant. But Mac always managers to find money to give Price if it will benefit his education. He says that Mac taught him the spirit of generosity but I think that Mac taught him about how a family puts the needs of others before themselves (Mac could have kept that money and Price would never have been any the wiser). I also think that Mac shows Price what real value is. Yes, Mac gives Price money and whatnot, but Mac shows Price what’s actually important: loving family, a solid job that you enjoy, those kinds of things that money can’t buy.
I enjoyed, and am a bit envious of, Price’s ability to put the reader in the where. His descriptions are detailed that he really brings the reader to that tobacco farm.