ENG BC3179x

Fall 2009

Gordis

READING SHEPARD’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Once again, this is an autobiographical text. But again, it’s important to be attentive to the ways in which the author shapes his account. Consider which events he chooses to describe, and which he chooses to omit. What purpose does he seem to envision the autobiography serving? To whom is this text addressed? Does it seem to be a private document, addressed only to that person, or does Shepard seem to envision a broader audience as well? How might Shepard imagine this text affecting its intended audience? Compare this autobiographical text to Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation. What elements do these texts share? How do they differ?

Consider Shepard’s prose style. Note any images or metaphors that recur in the text. For example, you might want to consider Shepard’s preoccupation with vision and blindness, and his predilection for metaphors of blindness and sight. You might also consider Shepard’s use of repetition. Does he treat repetition as theologically significant?

How does Shepard describe his conversion process? Which part of the conversion process does he emphasize here? Does Shepard seem to have a single clear moment of conversion, or, more accurately, can you locate such a moment in his text? Does this seem consistent with his emphasis in the excerpt from The Parable of the Ten Virgins that you read last week?

How similar is Shepard’s account of the voyage to America to Bradford’s account of the Pilgrims’ voyage? How does he describe his decision to migrate? Does he seem to have found the decision difficult?

Consider Shepard's representation of other people in his life. How does he interpret the events that befall his children and his wives? How does he understand the proper approach to human relationships? Which events seem most troubling to him, and why? Consider his wife’s death at the end of the narrative. How does this experience challenge him? How is the narrative affected by Shepard’s decision to close it with this event?