What is a biography text
Home / General Biography Information / What is a biography text
He was told he only had two years to live. Many rumors and gossips were associated with them when they reached the peaks of their careers and received great approval for writing the most admired novels of the nineteenth century. Autobiographies are inherently subjective, while biographies strive for a degree of objectivity.
Example: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is an autobiography.
The Greek historian Plutarch was also famous for his biographies, creating a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans in his book Parallel Lives. Now everyone could understand more about the Universe!
Despite his disease, Stephen had a great sense of fun and was determined to do as much as he could. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more, and I find myself believing a bit more, maybe it’s because I want to believe in an afterlife, that when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear.
Isaacson did not simply list Jobs’s accomplishments; he crafted a dramatic narrative that explored Jobs’s complex personality, his relentless pursuit of innovation, and the consequences of his perfectionism.
Authorial Interpretation
Although biographies aim for objectivity, they are inevitably shaped by the author’s perspective.
They use websites, letters, photographs, diaries and newspapers to help them.
Because biographies are written by someone else, they are written in the third person(//).
They are usually written in chronological order (the order in which events actually happened).
For example, watch this clip.
By the end of a biography, readers feel like they are well-acquainted with the subject. Thus, the above excerpt is possible where the writer is a character in the story himself, asking Jobs about his views on life and philosophy of the world.
Test Your Knowledge of Biography
1. He’s still going to make these hikes, he’d insist, because if you say that seven hours is too long to walk for two families of patients, you’re saying that their lives matter less than some others’, and the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world.
(Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr.
Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder)
Tracy Kidder’s wonderful example of biography, Mountains Beyond Mountains, brought the work of Dr. Paul Farmer to a wider audience.
Though detailed psychological theories and imaginative reforms about the famous playwright could be amusing, in fact, they damage the credibility of the sources. The vast majority of biography examples are written about people who are or were famous, such as politicians, actors, athletes, and so on. There can be some gray area, however, in the definition of biography when a ghostwriter is employed.
Some biographers choose a chronological approach, while others opt for a thematic or episodic structure. Biography continues to be one of the best selling genres in literature, and has led to a number of literary prizes specifically for this form.
Examples of Biography in Literature
Example #1
And I can imagine Farmer saying he doesn’t care if no one else is willing to follow their example.
Biography is a literary genre that portrays the experiences of all these events occurring in the life of a person, mostly in a chronological order.
Biography
Definition of Biography
A biography is a description of a real person’s life, including factual details as well as stories from the person’s life.
Distorting facts, even with good intentions, undermines the integrity of the work.
Example: A biography of Abraham Lincoln would not invent details about the Gettysburg Address. Therefore, many attempts have been made to know about Shakespeare, but this one is a unique example.
Example #2: Arthur Miller: Attention Must Be Paid (By James Campbell)
This biography is written in the form of a drama, presented in just two acts.
They must approach these topics with honesty and integrity, avoiding speculation or exaggeration.
Examples of Notable Biographies
- Robert Caro’s The Power Broker, a monumental biography of Robert Moses that explores the impact of urban planning.
- David McCullough’s Truman, a comprehensive and acclaimed biography of Harry S.
Truman.
- Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs, a revealing portrait of the Apple co‑founder.
- Edmund Morris’s Theodore Rex, a Pulitzer Prize‑winning biography of Theodore Roosevelt.
In conclusion, biography is a powerful literary form that allows us to connect with the lives of others, learn from their experiences, and gain a deeper understanding of the world around us.
Two days later, halfway there, he arrived in heavy rain at the beaver ponds that blocked access to the west bank of the Teklanika River. The biography was very well received for being both scrupulously referenced as well as highly literary and imaginative.
Example #4
Confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, [Louie] was almost incapable of discouragement.
Write a short biography of someone you are interested in.
It could be a famous person from history, a sports star, a scientist or an artist.