The Ethics of Working Class Autobiography: Representation of Family by Four American Authors

Focusing on the ethics of autobiography, this volume analyzes the works of four writers who spent much of their youth in working-class circumstances yet became highly educated intellectual professionals. Texts discussed are "Growing Up" by Russell Baker (1982), "Brothers and Keepers" by John Edgar Wideman (1984), "A Woman in Amber" by Agate Nesaule (1995) and "Clear Springs" by Bobbie Ann Mason (1999). Each work recounts the author's struggle with a particular societal element such as gender, race, class division or region. While Baker's memoir provides an example of positive, balanced characterizations of working-class relatives, the texts by Wideman, Nesaule and Mason illustrate the ethical pitfalls in portraying less powerful family members in one's life story. An overview of trends in working-class autobiography and a brief survey regarding the critical reception of each work are included.