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ISSN 1556-6757 |
SJI |
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| Volume
1, Issue 1, 2009 |
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Is That an Autobiography? Channeling Wittgenstein’s Family
Resemblances in Self-Life Writing
Ronald J.
Tulley
Abstract
Autobiography is often construed as a loose category
containing works as diverse as Montaigne’s essays, Walt
Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” and Charles Dickens’ David
Copperfield. While these works share certain elements, what
makes a text an “autobiography” as opposed to simply an
“autobiographical” text? Channeling Wittgenstein’s idea of
family resemblances and using three texts traditionally
labeled as autobiography from three historical periods, this
essay traces the features these texts share to develop an
argument for a prototypical autobiography.
Full Article
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