When Dolls Talk

"At the same time, however, I feel a tinge of sadness; it was the best I could do with Belinda . . . I didn’t really know Belinda, her joys; her pains. And I doubt she knew me."

For my next essay to be examined, I searched the internet. This was the gem of an essay that I found, http://www.identitytheory.com/nonfiction/perez_dollstalk.php. This essay by David Perez details an experience that that he had while playing dolls with his daughter.

Why do I like this essay so much? I like it because Perez chose a small moment from his life to write about. While the exact moment of Perez playing with his daughter is the main focus of the story, that moment is tied into a bigger truth in Perez's life. While the doll scene is well described and cute, later we find out that this was as far as Perez's role of a father went. Other than that moment, he wasn't much of a father to Belinda which is something that he now regrets.

This essay demonstrates the need of meaning in creative nonfiction. Writing about just any experience is great, but then your essay is just a good story. There needs to be a greater purpose in the writing, a theme.

Looking back at my first personal essay, I realize that my essay had no real purpose. I wrote about being afraid of the dark when I was young. I wrote it for entertainment, and my readers and I learned nothing about myself. "So what?" should have been a question I should have asked myself. Was the fear of the dark some manifestation of anxiety problems I have now or was it about the dependence I have on my mother?

I feel that the personal essay is about self discovery: uncovering truths about oneself. Perez did this. We learned of the insecurities he feels towards being a father. I also feel that anything worth writing a personal essay about has meaning. To end this post, I would say "Keep writing and discovering."