Blog #2- By Sherwin Thomas

Although Grey Owl lied about being a full-blooded Indian and James Frey lied about his criminal career, jail terms, and drug abuse, I think that by far, James Fret is a bigger liar than Grey Owl. James Frey is in fact a bigger liar because his entire book “A Million Little Pieces” was based on fictional and fabricated information and details of his untrue criminal career, jail terms, drug abuse, and his overall status as an outlaw. In other words, James Frey obtained popularity, fame, and millions of dollars by selling a lie, and if it weren’t for these lies, he wouldn’t be the man he was today, or would have the things he has/owns today. He also broke the cardinal rule of nonfiction memoirs, which states, “You do not make stuff up”.

As for Grey Owl, also known as Archie Stansfeld Belaney, he may have lied about being a full-blooded Indian and even being a half-breed, but this was minor in comparison to what he accomplished. Despite is false background/heritage, Grey Owl became one with the wilderness and its creatures. He obtained the perfect symbol of the vanishing wilderness –The Symbol of Canada- The Beaver. He also portrayed all the characteristics of a true Indian, and he his nature writings still stand as classics of the Canadian wilderness, both in for and message.

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If I had to choose who was the biggest liar between the two individuals I would pick James Frey. The both have profited from their dishonesty but Mr. Frey has con more people from around the world with his untruthful memoirs. The man has made millions off of people and continues to do so by writing more of his fictional experiences. James Frey never lived the life he portrayed in his books. Grey Owl on the other hand did live the life as a native Indian throughout his lifespan even though he had lied about his identity at an early age. Based on these points I clearly find that James Frey is the bigger liar.

Blog # 2

I believe that over the course of time people reminisce of their lives the events that once occurred and when they write memoirs to explain that to the audience, the addition of detail may be a part of their struggle to delineate the complexities in their life. However, in this case when reading Glassco, he did not use instances to explain the predicaments in his life but he coined new ones to draw empathy from the audience. Frey utilized fabrication of details and events to receive recognition. On the other hand even though Grew Owl was British, maybe he really felt as to be a Canadian born first nations author. I feel that just because a person is born in a certain territory or country doesn’t mean that they are of that origin. I could be born in Afghanistan but if as a child I’ve spent over 20 years in Canada, I would feel Canadian at heart.

Blog#2 James Frey and Grey Owl

When comparing the two authors James Frey and Grey Owl my respect definitely goes towards Grey Owl. He only lied about his heritage because he was of British decent. Although Grey Owl claimed to be a Canadian born first nations author after his death it came about that he was British. The reason I respect Grey Owl though was because he joined the heritage of first nations people and lived their way of life. Grey Owl also showed much compassion to the environment and through his stories he built awareness of the wilderness and wildlife.
James Frey on the other hand just lied to get himself famous. His stories of hitting police cars and drugs and alcohol actually turned me off his novels. His stories he claimed to be true make him sound like a junkie and too lie about it is even worse. I believe that his false stories were only intended to get money and attention. James Frey “memoirs” were nothing more than a fiction novel. In my opinion I actually found myself repulsed by James Frey’s stories after finding out the truth about him
-Stevekaufmann

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Grey Owl lied about what his ancestral background was, he truly believed he was part Indian. He was raised by Indians which caused him to adapted to their environment and culture. Him lying about being Indian didn't harm anyone nor did it influence people to read or buy his books;
unlike James Frey who lied to make money. Had he not lied his "memoir" would not have been published. He lied about truthful things that didn't have anything to do with him, which brought back memoirs and hurt feelings of the families that it did involve. He also lied just so his life could sound interesting.
I truly believe that James Frey is the biggest liar out of the two. His lies are worst because he had intentions of deceiving people intentionally, it didn't bother him that people felt sorry for him and some even felt empowered by him. He had no problem taking people's money and he felt no remorse.

Blog #1 By Robert Chiussi

I believe that the most important part of a blog is the facts. A blog, which bears no truth, is a story. The definition of a blog is "Blog is short for web log. A web log is a journal..." A journal is not something that should be altered in anyway unless the writer truly believes that what they right is true even if they mess up small details. I find some people want to be seen a certain way, have certain reactions to what they write. They should get into fiction. A memoir should also be treated the same way, but the reader should understand that many facts in the memoir are ancient, they now have many years on them and the journal becomes there story of what happened. When people talk about the good times they usually make it seem like more to get there point across and to have someone else feel there emotion, same with the bad times. Throughout the writers life they believe certain things to adjust and live with the memories in their head and sometimes change what happened to accept what happened.

Blog # 1: By Marco Conte

In writing a memoir I believe that the authors should be faithful to their readers and keep their stories faithful. If writing about their lives they shouldn’t feel the need to tell the readers something that didn’t actually happen because why write the story about yourself if your going to lie to make your lives look interesting to the reader. And that’s exactly what Glassco did. He used his lie to make it seem to the readers that he lived a very dramatic and entertaining life to bring some entertainment and spark to his stories. Furthermore, when proven facts actually showed that this author wasn’t telling the truth about past occurrences in his story or people that he had come across in his life. It brings a lot of thoughts to many about his memoirs, like if any of it is actual true or is his whole story a lie.