This document provides guidance for writing a critical personal narrative. It explains that a critical personal narrative recounts a story or experience but also analyzes and makes judgments to connect the story to a larger meaning. The document uses an example of Lucy Grealy's narrative about growing up with a disfigured face. It instructs the reader to choose an experience that has shaped them, critically reflect on it and the influences of other people, and connect it to a broader truth. The writer should illustrate issues to help the reader recognize the points being made and attach the story to something larger.

1. CRITICAL NARRATIVE

2. Critical
involving analysis and
skillful judgment as to
truth, merit, etc.

3. Narrative
A story or account of
events, experiences,
or the like.

4. The Di f ferences
Personal Narrative
◦ Recounts a story (or group of
stories) about an event or
experience.
◦ The purpose is to tell the reader a
story.
Critical Personal Narrative
◦ Recounts a story (or group of
stories) about an event or
experience
◦ The purpose is to analyze or judge
the story in order to connect that
story to some bigger meaning.
◦ i.e. Some bigger truth about
society/people (class, politics, race,
gender, etc.)

5. Lucy Grealy: “Masks”
Grealy writes her narrative about growing up with
a scarred and disfigured face. Not only does she
retell her experiences with people reacting to her
physical body, she reflects on the experiences
and attempts to come to some greater truth
about herself and others.

6. Lenses
Some lenses through which to look at your experiences:
◦ Gender
◦ Social
◦ Race
◦ Class
Grealy uses a social lens to give the readers a critical view of our
society and the oppressive bullying and mistreatment that we’ve
come to accept as a normal part of “looking different.”

7. Your Assignment
Part 1: You need to talk some experience(s) that have
helped to shape you into the person that you are today.
Part 2: You will then critically reflect on these stories and
the people who played parts in them to determine how
much you can separate who you have become from
the influences of the people around you.

8. I l lust rat ing the Issues
You need to tell your stories in a way that makes the reader
recognize the issues you are discussing.
Grealy focuses her story on her own pain and her disbelief that
others don’t realize how lucky they have it. Finally, as she illustrates
the entire time, she herself discusses how she finally recognized
that she was a hypocrite. She was envious, too.
This is what you will do. You will tell your stories so that your reader
will see the “truth” that you are trying to come to.

9. At tach i t to Something
Bigger
◦ Grealy connects her story to something bigger than herself. Her
stories make powerful statements and realizations about nature
of how we come to define ourselves based on what others
around us think of us.
◦ Although Grealy is living with a scarred and disfigured face, we
can all understand what it feels like to be different and our fear of
being made fun of or ridiculed.