In his memoir, Sink, Joseph Earl Thomas narrates his life in the third person; a different technique than what we have read previously. As the novel progresses, it creates an effect of separation between the author and the character, fostering a sense of distance for Thomas’ older/reflective self from his childhood self.
The distinction between author and character raised a thought that I have discussed in a previous class; separating the art from the artist. This concept refers to isolating a piece of art away from the individual who created it. This is typically implemented with works created by people who are considered controversial. For example, we discussed the film Annie Hall directed by Woody Allen. It is a PG movie that is about a comedian (Woody Allen) looking back at his relationship with a woman named Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton). Despite the movie being a cute, romantic comedy that most people will find amusing, it was created by a man that was accused of sexual abuse. We then applied this knowledge to other artists, another example being Kanye West. He is praised in the rap community, making hit albums like Graduation and The College Dropout. However, he has shown his true character time and time again, recently posting anti semitic comments on his social platforms. As a result, if an individual decides to listen to his music, are they allowing an anti semitic individual to profit, contributing to the discrimination of the Jewish population? Despite such a harsh question, it seems to remain a significant concept in our society today. Most artists have done pretty awful things in the past, yet we continue to support their productions by engaging in their work.
Considering Thomas’ experiences and some of the things he has encountered as well as participated in, it might make sense for him to separate his present self from his past self.
In regards to the “separating the art from the artist dilemma” I discussed in my class previously, I would not say Thomas is distancing himself from his past self due to controversy, but rather due to trauma. Thomas was faced with an extremely traumatic childhood, with experiences ranging from lack of care, being a witness to drug abuse, sexual abuse, and bullying. Most individuals would most likely want to repress this era of their life, discussing it as little as they would like; people do not enjoy bringing up past events that trigger anxiety.
For Thomas, in order to limit the pain of his recollection of this moment in time, he may have employed a third-person perspective to separate himself from his experience. He is able to distance himself from his suffering, in a way where he can control it; through narrative. In Smith and Watson’s book, Reading Autobiography Now, they discuss the use of different narrative tactics, explaining the concept of the autobiographical “I”. They refer to this, where “The producer of the story is the autobiographical ‘I’. As chapter 2 asserts, this ‘I’ is not a flesh-and-blood author, an entity that remains unknowable, but a speaker or a narrator who refers to him-, her-, or themself” (Smith & Watson 111). Authors have the opportunity to alter their autobiographical “I”s by controlling their point of view. In terms of third-person (the technique Thomas uses), Smith and Watson claim “The effect of deploying the third-person pronoun is often to disrupt the expectation of first-person intimacy, to create a sense of self-alienation through objectification, and to open a gap between the narrating ‘I’ and an implicit narrating ‘he’ or ‘she’ or ‘they’” (Smith & Watson 113). Third person narration is a way for an author to detach from themself while materializing their experience through writing. As Thomas uses the third person, he does not have to face the intense intimacy of his childhood, but can picture it in a sort of out of body way.
Additionally, this technique may alter Thomas’ relationship with his story by allowing it to remain uninterrupted. If he is able to write this narrative as an outsider to his own experience, this novel serves as a reliable source from when he was a child. There are multiple times where Joey’s thoughts are incorrect or remain childlike considering he was a 10 year old boy. For example, in scenes with Keisha, he explained that “Whenever Keisha was home, she used the bathroom a lot. Whatever happened in there, Joey could never forget the smell it produced… She must be an accomplice to Gargamel, he thought… She always swore by her cooking skills, but was scary when she entered the kitchen: burned proteins and disappointment lingered. Maybe she practicin in there, a smaller Mika would say… Whenever Keisha emerged from the bathroom she was bug-eyed and startled. She would say uh-uh and They comin to get me over and over again… He needed to find out who they were and stop them from getting his mother” (Thomas 136). As an older individual, it is clear that Keisha was doing drugs in the bathroom and feeling paranoid as an effect. From Joey’s age, he’s too young to understand that and it is shown clearly and effectively in the novel as it discusses Joey’s thoughts and feelings from a distant perspective. The third person point of view allows the narration of an uninterrupted childhood experience.
In the last “Some Summers” section and the final vignette Joey switches to second person, fostering less of a distance and more of an intimacy with the story and the reader. As Smith and Watson claim, “By contrast, the effect of using the second-person pronoun is to reroute the expected address between narrator and reader to an unexpected intimacy of exchange between the narrating ‘I’ and narrated ‘I’” (Smith & Watson 113). This shift serves as a reminder that this is a nonfiction memoir, where the author has experienced the events in the book. Reading it for the first time opened my eyes quite a bit, as I imagined myself in Joey’s world for a moment. I then understood that it had been a real experience, and it must not go unnoticed.
Your connection between Thomas’s narrative choices and the concept of “separating the art from the artist” offers a fresh perspective on Sink! This is an interesting lens through which to examine his narrative strategy.
While your discussion of controversial artists like Woody Allen and Kanye West establishes your concept, I think you really hit your stride when you pivot to how this applies to Thomas – not due to controversy but trauma. That insight that “Thomas is distancing himself from his past self… due to trauma” shows a nuanced understanding of how narrative techniques can serve psychological purposes.
Your engagement with Smith and Watson’s framework is excellent, particularly in how you apply their concept of the autobiographical “I” to Thomas’s third-person approach. The quote about third-person narration creating “a sense of self-alienation through objectification” perfectly supports your analysis of Thomas’s distancing strategy.
The Keisha bathroom scene is a terrific example and really well contextualized! You’ve situated this moment perfectly within the larger narrative, showing how the third-person perspective allows Thomas to preserve Joey’s limited understanding while giving readers enough information to recognize what’s actually happening. This example demonstrates exactly how the narrative technique creates that “uninterrupted childhood experience” you describe.
Your analysis of the shift to second person at the end is insightful as well. I appreciate how you connect this to your own reading experience – that moment when you realized “it had been a real experience, and it must not go unnoticed.” This personal reflection shows how Thomas’s narrative choices effectively guide the reader’s emotional journey.
One thing I wonder about: how might this narrative distancing connect to other themes in the memoir, particularly Joey’s interest in fantasy and video games? Is there a connection between these different forms of “escape”?
Great work thinking about form and psychology in this memoir!