A memoir is usually a combination of content and perspective, hence an association of what is being said and who is saying it, in this case, the author. The readers of a memoir will seek to judge the writer as much as they judge the content as they are normally written out of personal knowledge and experience. Place and location are major determinants of behavior generally and in the day to day life. By definition, place refers to the geography, such as a city, state or country while location is more particularized and includes the prerequisites of the place and the people residing within it. Human character and social norms change depending on place and location so that what can be considered as right in one place may be considered as wrong in another. As readers judge both the memoir and the writer, they will seek to understand the relationship between the event and the place that it happened so as to evaluate the character of the writer depending on what happened and where it happened.
Place and location are important bearing factors on how readers approve or disapprove the expectations of a writer of a memoir. In normal parlance, people use statements such as ‘this is America’ or ‘this is not California” to attribute perspective to an expectation. Although human beings are a singular species, they behave exponentially different in different places depending, among others, on the demographics and geopolitics of a place. A good example is the social justice differences between New York in the East Coast and Illinois in the West as reflected in Foster Wallace’s “Ticket to the Fair.” The author of the memoir is in a fair in the West yet has been to, and is accustomed to the social context of the East where social justice is paramount. He is attuned to social justice issues; hence he is careful to observe any social justice breaches and also keen to comment on them.
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An excellent example of the impact of location is when the Foster Wallace’s companion is given a free ride on a zipper where she is hauled up and placed upside down so that the zipper controllers can look down her skirt. The author is livid, but his companions are excited about the ride (Wallace, 1994). They have an interesting conversation where the author seeks to make an argument about sexual harassment while his companion is excited about how great the zipper rise was. When it comes to interpretation by a reader, the place will be a major bearing factor. In this instance, the place is in the Midwest, and the location is inside a fair both of which are important bearing factors for the reader. A Midwestern reader will be upset by the author who, instead of going to have fun in the fair started policing both fairgoers and machine operators about sexual harassment. On the other hand, as the author indicates, an Easterner from New York would support the reader and wonder how such atrocities can be allowed to happen in a public place (Wallace, 1994). Place, in this case, is as important bearing factor to the interpretation of what happened.
On the other hand, an excellent example of how location is critical is the interpretation of how Foster Wallace canvasses an animal rights issue at the fair. At the fair, the author constantly has a problem with how animals are treated more so the pigs, which keep screaming (Wallace, 1994). He is keen to raise the issue with those who are handling the pigs, but they seem oblivious to it. Just as the author is extremely livid about the situation, he manages to remember that he enjoyed bacon the previous night and will be having hotdog later in that day, all of which come from pork. This is a sharp realization that the pig is merely a source of meat, not a pet strikes him. Once again, location will be a major determinant on how a reader will interpret this issue. The location of the event is inside a fair in the agricultural segment where animals are considered as merely a source of meat (Wallace, 1994). It will be easy for a reader to interpret the issue from the perspective of the author’ naivety as opposed to his caring nature.
Place and location also play a crucial role in interpreting a memoir that covers international dimensions; a good example being Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” and “Persepolis 2”. In the narrative, the author shifts from Iran to a new Iran then on to Vienna, then back to a very different Iran than the one she had left (Satrapi, 2010; Satrapi, 2008). The shift above is critical in the instant context as it shows instances where the place seems to change while the location remains the same. For example, Iran is indicated three times in the same sentence indicating the same place but three different locations. The first Iran happens before the Islamic revolution and entails the same place but different rules, laws, and regulation. The second Iran happens after the Islamic revolution and the advent of extremist rules against social interactions and feminism, which are exacerbated by the war with Iraq (Satrapi, 2010). Finally, there is the Iran that Satrapi comes back to after a four-year stay in Austria and finds that the war is over, but Islamic rule has become extremely pronounced. In the instant case, location remains constant as it is inside Iran, but the place keeps on changing depending on which version of Iran it is. Readers will thus interpret the memoir depending on how they understand the particulars of place.
Over and above place, location also plays a role in how a reader would interpret Persepolis as there is a major shift of location from Tehran in Iran to Vienna in Austria. Based on location, a reader will interpret the narrative in the memoir either positively or negatively depending on how the reader considers the location. According to the memoir, Satrapi was a rebel both in Tehran and in Vienna While in Tehran, she rebelled against the extreme authoritarian rule of the Islamic government (Satrapi, 2010). Conversely, when she found herself in Vienna, she rebelled against the extremities of freedom that being in the west provided and almost seemed too long for the authoritarianism of home. The interpretation of the memoir as far as the author’s behavior is concerned has a lot to do with her place from time to time. Rebelling in Tehran, for example, can be interpreted as reckless and suicidal due to the potential ramifications it can bring the author and her family. On the other hand, rebelling in Vienna can be seen as ingratitude as she has been moved from Tehran to find freedom but does not seem to embrace freedom (Satrapi, 2010) fully.
Finally, location and place both play an important role in how Persepolis 2 is interpreted, more so when it comes to the issue of the author’s divorce. In the instant scenario, a reader will be keen to evaluate both location and place while making an interpretation and judging Satrapi on the divorce. Place is important in this context as Satrapi is back to Tehran from Vienna at her request (Satrapi, 2008). She had been moved from Tehran to escape the lack of social justice but was unable to make a life in Vienna, hence her return. Location, on the other hand, refers to the strict Islamic governance that has now taken root in Tehran after both the revolution and the end of the war with Iraq. It is under these circumstances that Satrapi wants a divorce from her husband Reza who is still interested in saving their marriage (Satrapi, 2008). It is easy for any modern reader to appreciate the fact that marriage is not a death sentence and any spouse who wants a divorce is entitled to it. However, such rights are easily available in the location and place that Satrapi has left behind in Vienna, yet problematic in her current place and location in Tehran. It would be easy for a reader to feel from annoyance against Satrapi since she had a choice to live free and make free choices in Vienna. However, she freely leaves Vienna and comes back to Tehran knowing full well the laws and rules applicable therein but still wants to acts as if she is in Vienna (Satrapi, 2008). Because of place and location, a relatively acceptable decision such as that of a wife seeking to get a divorce not be interpreted as acceptable by a reader.
Conclusively, place and location are critical bearing factors on how a reader interprets the text in a memoir. Interpretation in this context is based in part on the fact that the author is an important component of a memoir and will be judged by the reader alongside the memoir itself. In the Foster Wallace’s “Ticket to the Fair,” the place is the Midwest while the location is inside a fair, both of which combine to influence how a reader will judge the author when interpreting the memoir. The scenario is more complicated in Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” and “Persepolis 2,” where a clear distinction between place and location is evident. For example, the very same place, Tehran can be considered as three different locations due to change in times. Satrapi also happens to migrate to a different place, Vienna then moves back to Tehran. Her actions are interpreted depending on where she is, be it Vienna or Tehran and also which version of Tehran she is on at that moment in time.
References
Satrapi M. (2010). Persepolis . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Satrapi, M. (2008). Persepolis 2: . Bridgewater, NJ: Distributed by Paw Prints/Baker & Taylor.
Wallace, D. F. (1994). Ticket to the Fair . New York: Harper.
