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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume 4
Fall 2005
Page 9
By Jennifer Flynn
Works Cited
Couser, G. Thomas. Altered Egos: Authority in American Autobiography . New York : Oxford University Press, 1989.
Eakin, Paul John. "What Are We Reading When We Read Autobiography?" Narrative 12.2 May 2004: 121-132..
Elbaz, Robert. The Changing Nature of the Self: A Critical Study of Autobiographic Discourse . Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, 1987.
Foley, Barbara. "Fact, Fiction, Fascism: Testimony and Mimesis in Holocaust Narratives." Comparative Literature 34.4 Fall 1982: 330-360.
Langer, Lawrence L. "The Pursuit of Death in Holocaust Narrative." Narrative and Consciousness: Literature, Psychology and the Brain . Ed. Fireman, Gary D., Flanagan, Owen J., McVay Jr., Ted E. New York : Oxford University Press, 2003. 149-165.
Manseau, Peter. "The Hazards of Holocaust Theology." Killing the Buddha . April 11, 2001. November 3. 2004.
<http://www.killingthebuddha.com/dogma/hazards_holocuast.htm>
Melton, Judith M. The Face of Exile: Autobiographical Journeys. Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, 1998.
Miller, Nancy K., and Tougaw, Jason, Eds. Extremities: Trauma, Testimony, and Community . Illinois : University of Illinois Press, 2002
Seidman, Naomi. "Elie Wiesel and the Scandal of Jewish Rage." Jewish Social Studies 3.1 Fall 1996: 1-19.
Wiesel, Elie. "Trivializing Memory." From the Kingdom of Memory : Reminiscences. New York : Summit Books, 1990.
_____. Memoirs: All River Runs to the Sea . New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.
_____. Night . New York : Bantam Books, 1986.
Commentary
Meredithe McNamara
As Jennifer Flynn rightly asks, "How does a reader come to terms with two dissimilar autobiographies produced by a single author?" She explores the answer to this question within the context of Elie Wiesel's two starkly different autobiographical works, And the World Kept Silent and Night . Flynn takes special care to tell her reader that she is not the first to attempt to explain why Wiesel might portray his self in two completely different ways, especially as she poses many of her arguments to counter those of noted literary scholar Naomi Seidman. Flynn organizes her essay as a point-by-point rebuttal of Seidman's theories in an effort to establish the validity of her own claims on what Wiesel was trying to accomplish in paring down his Yiddish work into Night. Flynn's analysis delves into the heart of Wiesel's self as both a Holocaust survivor and a writer, his personal and literary intentions and how the end result functions to uphold these latter two. Ultimately, we see Flynn assert herself and her conclusions as the equal if not the superior of Seidman's theories.