8:00
English 110
Paper 1, Rough Draft
Response to John Wideman “Our Time”
John Wideman’s “Our Time” portrays a different side of a convicted felon that is often never seen. His brother Robbie was sentenced to life in prison after being involved in a murder and robbery. Writing a book about his brother was something he had never done before and shows a very interesting approach to getting the reader’s attention. Due to the fact that he had never written a book like this before Wideman had to overcome some obstacles he had never faced before. As Wideman began writing the book he realizes that he has a hard time grasping the fact that he is a successful novelist and his brother a felon. Throughout the passage Wideman speaks to the reader
Or is it simply to show how talented of a writer he is, overcoming his setbacks and providing his readers with a good book? Who knows? From what I inferred I believe it was his attempt at writing a book about his brother which in the end had to be the truth and only the truth. Something he had never done before. Although Wideman has already been successful as a writer I see this book as a challenge to him, showing the audience his skill and his ability to write a book from his brother’s perspective without exploitation. Wideman questions, which leads to his second problem, why he writes. Unlike this book, the works of art he wrote before were never about his brother, which explains why he has such a hard time writing this one. John questions himself, asking “Do I write to escape, to make a fiction of my life” (672). As a child, Wideman chose a more promising path to succeed in life. He didn’t get sucked in by the bad influences most young kids, where he came from, faced. John, now a college professor, can’t exactly explain what made him become what he is today. Could this be another reason as to why he wrote this book? After speaking with his mother and visiting with Robby for a while John starts to realize what was actually happening while he had left, escaped. Their family wasn’t the type to speak to one another about their feelings. It was just assumed that because they were family they cared about one another. So, just like the