Politics of Innocence in Mimi Alford's Once Upon a Secret

Abstract

This research work examines how Mimi Alford plays trick with her memory. Memory is valorized for showing innocent-self throughout this autobiography. The perspective of experience never leaves an author while memorizing. The subjectivity of an author could not be detached from his/her way of representation. Intrusion of an adult self of Alford gives the mature meaning of her teenage experiences. She reinterprets her past via her memory so there is space of speculation and underestimation. She tries to claim a ground in official history of JFK and tries to cover it with innocence and honesty of her nineteen-years-old self. By writing the name of all the people with whom she was associated, she tries to give an impression that she remembers her past properly and tries to hold the authenticity of the truth with herself. Her respect and forgiveness to the people who once used and miss-used her shows her policy to cover-up her mistakes and her attempt to search a remarkable space in the life of JFK.