1. Memoir And Autobiography Books
2. Autobiography Memoir And Personal Narrative
3. Best Memoir And Autobiography
4. Biography And Autobiography Powerpoint
5. Memoir And Autobiography Difference

The three primary formats used to tell a life story are a biography, an autobiography, and a memoir. Distinguishing between the three can feel a bit confusing since they all share several similarities. But there are some distinct differences.

Simply put, a biography is the life history of an individual, written by someone else. An autobiography is the story of a person’s life, written by that person. And a memoir is a collection of memories written by the person themselves.

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed 1969 memoir, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,' and her numerous poetry and essay collections. An Overview of Autobiography in Ancient Arabic Literature قديم عربى ادب ميں خود نوشت سوانح نگارى كا ايك جائزہ Autobiography is a well-known and useful genre of literature from which human beings are aware of each other's experiences, observations and facts. Biography definition is - a usually written history of a person's life. How to use biography in a sentence. So You've Been Asked to Submit a biography. A memoir is similar to an autobiography in the sense that it is also about one’s own life as written by that person. However, as an autobiography narrates the whole life start to end, a memoir speaks of a particular time period or a particular instance, which the author chose to focus on.

What is a Biography?

Memoir And Autobiography Books

A biography, also called a bio, is a non-fiction piece of work giving an objective account of a person’s life. The main difference between a biography vs. an autobiography is that the author of a biography is not the subject.

Biographies include details of key events that shaped the subject’s life, and information about their birthplace, education, work, and relationships. Biographers use a number of research sources, including interviews, letters, diaries, photographs, essays, reference books, and newspapers. While a biography is usually in the written form, it can be produced in other formats such as music composition or film.

Examples of famous biographies include:

Autobiography Memoir And Personal Narrative

• His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
• Einstein: The Life and Times by Ronald William Clark
• Princess Diana – A Biography of The Princess of Wales by Drew L. Crichton

What is an Autobiography?

An autobiography is the story of a person’s life written by that person. Because the author is also the main character of the story, autobiographies are written in the first person.

The purpose of an autobiography is to portray the life experiences and achievements of the author. Therefore, most autobiographies are written later in the subject’s life.

They often begin during early childhood and chronologically detail key events throughout their life. Autobiographies usually include information about where a person was born and brought up, their education, career, life experiences, the challenges they faced, and their key achievements.

One of the main differences between an autobiography vs. a biography is that autobiographies tend to be more subjective. That’s because they are written by the subject, and present the facts based on their own memories of a specific situation, which can be biased.

Examples of famous autobiographies include:

• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson

What is a Memoir?

Memoir comes from the French word mémoire, meaning memory or reminiscence. Similar to an autobiography, a memoir is the story of a person’s life written by that person.

The difference between a memoir vs. an autobiography is that a memoir focuses on reflection and establishing an emotional connection, rather than simply presenting the facts around their life. The author uses their personal knowledge to tell an intimate and emotional story about the private or public happenings in their life. The topic is intentionally focused and does not include biographical or chronological aspects of the author’s life unless they are meaningful and relevant to the story.

Examples of famous memoirs include:

Best Memoir And Autobiography

• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoir Comparison Chart

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Definition of Memoir

Memoir is a written factual account of somebody’s life. It comes from the French word mémoire, which means “memory,” or “reminiscence.” This literary technique tells a story about the experiences of someone’s life. A literary memoir is usually about a specific theme, or about a part of someone’s life. It is a story with a proper narrative shape, focus, and subject matter, involving reflection on some particular event or place.

Memoirs are often associated with popular personalities, such as celebrities, sportsmen, soldiers, singers, and writers. It allows making a connection with what the audience finds captivating, interesting, appealing, and engaging.

Memoir and Autobiography

Memoir falls under the category of autobiography, but is used as its sub-genre. The major difference between memoir and autobiography is that a memoir is a centralized and more specific storytelling, while an autobiography spans the entire life of a person with intricate details such as the childhood, family history, education, and profession. A memoir is specific and focused, telling the story of somebody’s life, focusing on an important event that occurred at a specific time and place.

Examples of Memoir in Literature

Example #1: A Moveable Feast (By Ernest Hemingway)

Ernest Hemingway was an acclaimed celebrity during the times when the public treated American writers like movie stars. His memoir A Moveable Feast was published after his death in 1964. This memoir is a collection of stories about his time spent in Paris as a writer in 1920s, before attaining popularity. During these days, he was acquainted with many other famous writers, including Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein.

Biography And Autobiography Powerpoint

Example #2: Speak Memory (By Vladimir Nabokov)

This memoir is about the description of Nabokov’s childhood, and the years he spent before moving to America in 1940; however, it is not the exact reason of writing this memoir. More notably, this book is about a tale of his art, as it serves as a model of that art. In addition, it includes themes, imagery, and symbols that build up a structure in the minds of readers besides making up the book. Like always, Nabokov’s prose writing is flawless, brilliant, and overwhelming, while his playful writing style makes his work seem fascinating.

Example #3: Homage to Catalonia (By ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­George Orwell)

Memoir And Autobiography Difference

This is Orwell’s gripping tale of his days during the Spanish Civil War. He has described it with his typical trademark of journalistic wink, which is one of his best works. Honest and unwavering, Orwell narrates his personal experience without inducing any agenda, recording different things from that era as he saw them. Philip Mairet said of this account that the work shows ]people a heart of innocence living in revolutionary days.

Example #4: Maus (By­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Art Spiegelman)

Although we can find many deeply affecting memoirs to make this list, Maus is one of the most well-liked memoirs, with its distressing story covered with perfect illustrations by Spiegelman. We might think that imagining different characters appearing with animal faces would make the story horrible and less intense and more irritating, it is rather the opposite. If we know the comic style, we learn that blank iconic faces and the outlook of the mice in this memoir allows the audience to put themselves in their shoes, to understand the story more easily.

Function of Memoir

Memoir has been around since ancient times. Perhaps Julius Caesar, who wrote and depicted his personal experiences about epic battles, was the first memoirist. Later, it became a popular and acclaimed literary genre. Memoir serves to preserve history through a person’ eyes. Through memoir, celebrities also tell harsh sides of their careers. Rock stars tell their fans about tough days spent in distress, drug addicts reveal their struggle in seeking normal life, soldiers write war experiences, people who are mentally ill describe ups and downs to achieve clarity, and authors tell particular events that happened before their eyes. Hence, the function of memoir is to provide a window for the audience to have a look into the lives of other people.