Invisible man
In "Portrait of an Invisible Man", Paul Auster uses his experiences with his own father in a way that, it would be easy for the average person to relate to. He uses events that are common events that have happened to most people. He uses events that not only effected him in a certain way, but also would effect most people. The essay is filled with his recollections of his father, and what he finds out about him when his is forced to clean out his house. Paul finds many pictures that let him have a better look into his father's life. He also comes across newspaper articles, which tell him a dark story from his father's past. The way that Paul Auster writes these experiences down, allows the reader to relate them to their own experiences. This, in turn, makes the essay more enjoyable, and more effective. In Auster's story, he talks often about how his father treated him, and how he showed his emotions towards him. He tells how his father never really told him that he loved him, or showed many emotions to him. He was merely there to provide for him, and to be a role model of a hard working man. Auster once says, "You never stop hungering for your father's love, even after you are grown up." (61). P
When I read that sentence, my mind went immediately went to my father, and what I had observed of him at my grandfather's funeral. In all my experiences with my father and my grandfather, I can not remember a time where I saw either of them show emotion between them. When they were together they acted as businessmen; they talked about business or politics. They would talk about sports or the stock market. I can not remember a time when I heard either of them say they loved the other. I always knew they did, but I never heard it. I never thought about it until the funeral. For the first time I saw my father showing his emotions towards his father. I did not see my father cry often, but at the burial he did and I knew it was because he knew that he would never again be able to hear his father say, I love you, again. I know he cried because he still hungered for his father's love. I have a similar relationship with my father, we do not say, or show emotion to each other often, but it is an unspoken truth. I know that a lot of other people have had similar experiences, and that they probably thought of their experience throughout this passage also. By writing this essay, about his father, in a way that people could relate to, Paul Auster made the reading more enjoyable. By making the reading more enjoyable to the reader, it made the essay more effective. When I read something that I can relate my own experiences to, it makes the story more believable, to me, and I recall the information much easier. The essay becomes a part of my life. When I relate the information from the book, to my life, it sometimes helps me look at situations, and people from different points of view. It helps me to understand things better. By Auster writing in that style, he not only made people think about their own lives more, but created an image for his Auster, Paul. "Portrait of an Invisible Man." Ways Of Reading. Ed. David Bartolomae & Anthony Petrosky. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999 Paul Auster set out to write an essay that would stop his father from becoming invisible
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Approximate Word count = 1404
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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