Brothers And Keepers Literary Analysis

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Persistence through adversity and hardships can truly determine the strength of a relationship between siblings. Despite the differences each individual may have, siblings possess a resolute bond—an unyielding connection like no other—that may unbeknown to those who do not have a brother or a sister. The memoir, Brothers and Keepers, has various fanatic reviews that have acclaimed John Edgar Wideman for his unique writing technique, accuracy in portrayal of the hardships one may ultimately face, and success in showing the paramount importance of any brother relationship. He discloses a gripping tale of the bond between himself and his younger brother, and divulges into saying that no tribulation can impede their tie. Wideman…show more content…
He is also notable for being a professor at Brown University and for starting African American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. However, in spite of the many remarkable awards he has received, the true importance of listing a few of his accomplishments is to show the disparity amongst the brothers. His brother, Robby, lives a radically different life than of John Edgar Wideman. Robby is in prison, arrested for homicide; he’s also a drug addict, with dreams of becoming a big-time dealer. Throughout the book, John has stated the difficulties of narrating the relationship between him and his younger brother. He inquires how can there be such a large polarity of two individuals’ outcomes and that of coming from the same neighborhood. However, John Edgar Wideman continues to illuminate not only the intrinsic bond they share but also the tribulations he had to endure in order for his brother’s story to…show more content…
Page 18 of Brothers and Keepers states, “Even as I manufacture fiction from the events of my brother’s life, from the history of the family that had nurtured us bothm I knew something of a different order remained to be extricated. The fiction writer was also a man with a real brother behind real bars. I continued to feel caged by my bewilderment, by my inability to see clearly, accurately, not only the last visit with my brother but the whole long skein of our lives together and apart.” Therefore since Wideman was accustomed to embellishment in his novels, he found himself fixing his errors. “This attempt to break out, to knock down the walls.” This passage shows the severity of how difficult it was for him to alter his ways. However, the importance of publicizing his brother’s tale was greater and succeeded that of his writing
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