To begin, I'd like to note that I got no real help with the question "What is the difference between Peace Corps Memoir, Travel Writing and Ethnography?" because with Tidwell's book a reviewer called it a memoir while the publisher labelled it Travel/Anthropology (I am considering "Anthropology" the same as "Ethnography," since they are quite similar).
Also, as I took notes for this book I realized I was as much a literary critic as I was a researcher. While the critical notes may serve me as I write my own Peace Corps book, they may not work with the topic of my paper. We'll see. I suspect some of the critical notes will sneak in sometimes.
The book begins with a 4-page into that sucked me in with its drama and action. This signifies to me that the writer is a good storyteller. Therefore, according to my assumptions, this will be more artistic/crafted than academic.
Yet, in the first chapter, I see that this book may not dig as deeply (provide as much reflection) as I assumed a memoir would. To quote from my notes:
"I was expecting much more from a "memoir" :
'[After receiving a college degree] It was time, in short, to be a real person...Where was he? Who was he? What kind of work would he do? I wasn't sure. Living in Africa, stripped nearly naked of my own culture, I hoped to give my deepest feelings a chance to produce some answers. I hoped to travel my inner continent, in other words, and come back with a better focused picture.'
This was all we got. I think more introspection would serve to create a more engaging story. As workshoppers asked of me, how did he summon the courage to go? How did he make the decision? What did his family and friends think? What did he fear?"
There was also this:
"Tidwell goes over his training in Chapter 1. He says it's like torture and illustrates his point, but we don't see how this 21 year old felt about it, no emotion. I can try to imagine myself there but would like to see his motivation for telling the story."
In Chapter 3 Tidwell goes into a little of what I'll call ethnography/anthropology (which I will refer to as ethnography). He explains the people's traditional beliefs and also gives a brief history lesson. This lesson goes back to the Belgian invaders and ends with fish ponds, which takes us to why Tidwell is there (to teach the villagers to farm fish).
He continues to use ethnography throughout the book. In Chapter 4 he illustrates the culture of giving and tries to find the reason behind the peoples' generosity. It is in this chapter that he provides a powerful statement, illustrating the mental shift PCVs encounter:
"Like most people who go overseas to do development work, I did so expecting to find out what it's like to be poor. . . Instead you learn what it's like to be rich, to be fabulously, incomprehensibly, bloated with wealth." (74)
In Chapter 10 Tidwell recounts a hunting trip he went on with the men of the village. I think this is a good example of a favorable mix of literary and academic writing. Admittedly, calling it academic is a stretch, but I do because Tidwell is describing a cultural event. The literary part is the way he uses tension to make the story exciting.
Chapter 11 is another good example. He tells the story of once-respected Lukasa who loses honor in the villagers' eyes because he dies childless. Tidwell continues by explaining why having children is so important to the villagers.
Chapter 15 goes into the culture of mining to temporarily escape poverty. In Chapter 16 he describes primitive medicine and religious practices.
As for introspection and reflection, Tidwell is lacking, which makes the read less engaging than other similar memoirs. In Chapter 3 Tidwell tells an exciting success story of his first pond. Yet, he does not provide much introspection with this and other stories. Though he does make it clear later that he became frustrated with his poor transportation situation, I think he fails to convey the feeling.
Also, in Chapter 5 Tidwell recounts his first fish harvest and when he mentions the crowd that showed up to see, he writes a lame "I was impressed by their show of support." In Chapter 7 he mentions nearby violence in a struggle for power, yet he does give any personal reflections on it. In the next chapter he talks about the many deaths of villagers, yet I only slightly felt the emotion he must have felt. It was here that I realized that I didn't really know Tidwell. I didn't know what kind of guy he was because he wouldn't show me. He was more like a bystander than a participant, more like an ethnographer than a writer. In Chapter 9 he ends a potentially hear-rending scene where a villager names his son after Mike:
"I thought about that for a long time and it almost made me cry." (139)
Yet, in the latter chapters he becomes more reflective and ends with a bang. In Chapter 11 he begins to reflect on over-population. He devotes the whole of Chapter 12 to reflection on acceptance. In Chapter 14, perhaps the best-written chapter, he mourns his absent friend. In 16 and 17, as he nears the end of his service, he reflects on fear of failure, futility and stress. Tidwell ends with two powerful and sad chapters where he battles with his feelings.
I also noticed that Tidwell had a strange habit of forgetting to mention things: his best friend, his dog, other characters who came and went and finally his alcoholism. He doesn't mention his drinking problem until Chapter 17. While it is true that he doesn't admit it to himself until then, as a reflective writer he can drop hints and build tension, foreshadow, for the reader.
Tidwell chose to tell his story this way, with stories and observations front-loaded and introspection and conclusions back-loaded, perhaps to create a slow build up that ends with a bang. While that made a good read, there is still a missing piece. The theme eluded me. There seems to be no central idea. Any conclusions were left unsaid, or remained unclear. In the end, I've heard some memorable stories but not felt any change: I didn't come to any significant realization, nor did Tidwell. I can then ask myself, was this worth reading?
Yes, but it leaves me wanting more. Still, this was my first book on the reading list, so I have nothing to compare it to yet. We'll see if the second PC book differs and by much.
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