Analyzing Noggin's Autobiographical Memory

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In my opinion, one of the main thematic topics in Noggin was being stuck in time. The article that I decided to connect to Noggin is “When Memories Never Fade, The Past Can Poison The Present” by Alix Spiegel. This article is about a woman with highly superior autobiographical memory; a condition where a person has the inability to forget. Alexandra, the woman with HSAM, states that “it [HSAM] separates her from other people her age because they can’t understand why she’s so focused on things that have already happened” (Speigel). Her condition relates to Noggin because Travis cleary remembers everything before the surgery as if it were yesterday. His lucid memories cause it to be difficult to move on. Like Alexandra, this eventually causes problems in his relationships. In the book, we can see Travis trying to get Cate back even though she is engaged. For Alexandra, her problem is that she simply hasn’t really dated. For both Travis and Alexandra, being unable to forget is more of a curse than a blessing. …show more content…

In Noggin, we can see the same thing with Travis. Near the end of the book, after Travis has finally given up on trying to get Cate back, he gives both himself and her a reminder about the love they used to share.“And do you remember what you said to me when you got there? Do you remember?” Cate replies by saying; “I said one of us would have to die. It would take dying to keep us apart” (Whaley 336). These quotes at the end of the book are a final reminder for Travis that they did used to be in love, but now it is over. After spending so much time thinking about her, he finally realizes that his life has permanently changed from the way it was before the

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