Essay On The Power Of Remembrance

Remembrance may seem like such a small act in our daily lives, but the power it holds is unimaginable. In the fictitious novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author presents the power of remembrance and its ability to follow, remind, and bring back the gone or lost. Through the characters Norman Bowker, Jimmy Cross, and Tim O’Brien, O’Brien proves that remembrance has a powerful and magical element to it, even though it may seem like a burden at times.

Memories follow and hold different significances throughout one’s life, as portrayed with Norman Bowker’s character. Spread between the chapters of “Speaking of Courage” and “Notes,” author Tim O’Brien showcases the power of remembrance. In “Speaking of Courage” specifically, Norman

“At one point, I remember, we paused over a snapshot of Ted Lavender, and after a while Jimmy rubbed his eyes and said he’d never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death. It was something that would never go away, he said quietly… ” (26). After studying a picture of Lavender, both men felt upset and distraught. As awful as these types of memories seem, they’re what make individuals exactly that: individual. Unique. Photographs and stories can spark different feelings. Rather than just going back to that one day, pictures can also set off a chain reaction of all the other good memories made with a person or at a certain location within the photo. “... Jimmy Cross looked up in surprise. ‘You writer types,’ he said, ‘you’ve got long memories.’ Then he smiled and excused himself and went up to the guest room and came back with a small framed photograph. It was the volleyball shot: Martha bent horizontal to the floor, reaching, the palms of her hands in sharp focus. ‘Remember this?’ he said. I nodded and told him I was surprised. I thought he’d burned it. Jimmy kept smiling. For a while he stared down at the photograph, his eyes very bright…” (27). Although the photo had previously brought Cross grief, as he blamed that photo paired with his ignorance for Ted’s death, in this instance he is recalling the good, fun, and bright memories he and Martha had shared together. He was able to relive those old and lost moments, even if it was only for a split