Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Haunting past
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Haunting past
Memories to some are their most treasured prizes, able to evoke feelings of euphoria, joy, nostalgia of the grandest depth. Memories to others are bearers of dread, despair, and infinitely running takes of horror, it is within this spectrum of human experience that my most vivid memories dwell.
One event that forever reshaped my paradigm occurred while I was deployed in FOB Kalsu Iraq, it was a mundane summer day reminiscent of any other UV enriched day there however this day would forever be etched into the walls of my deepest levels of consciousness for the rest of my life, due to the events which would occur. It all began at the crack of my alarm clock, its siren piercing the pitch black canvass that was my room illuminating it with a continuous metron ome of beep after beep. I flicked the light on to get a pristine view of my surroundings which was primarily vacated by my roommate, Sparks was still lying in his bed much like a stiffened corpse which ironically could be the fate of any of us at any given moment. As if my words were unseen chest paddles he sprung to life in a jolt of movement at the mere calling of his name, I grabbed my equipment, headed off to take a shower and perform my morning hygiene routine. I slowly opened the door leading out of my sleeping quarters and began the all to familiar trek to the showers, I vividly recall the outdoor darkness was a miasma of heat and salty wind, as if I had somehow walked into a darkened oven and salt was being tossed upon me from above by an unseen hand to season me for consumption and subsequent demise. Upon further evaluation it was evident the still moist sandals that clung to my feet were mixing with the sand below to create a trail of mud, humorous how such mundane d...
... middle of paper ...
...s yard was changed, no longer was a grounds for work but rather it had become a butchers shop forever tainted with the smell of fresh cut meat.
Feelings of despair and deep running sadness filled me. Mr. Mills was a slightly irate individual but he never complained about what he was asked to do. He had been married for 35 years, had worked for KBR as a US contractor, he began work in 2004 and met his demise July 23rd of 2010 at the ripe age of 54. No one deserves to die not Mr. Mills nor any other human being, but one idea I play over and over in my mind to perhaps self comfort myself about his passing is that it was a near instant death, painless. Funny how our own deaths do not influence who we are in any way for once we are dead we are gone, however the deaths of others tend to have the grandest of influence upon who we are, I know I experienced if firsthand.
Sometimes people need to hang on to difficult memories because without them they would feel lost. In short, it is better to feel pain than nothing at all. Memories are made up of the highest and lowest points in your life and all the little ones in between. The poet, Li Young Lee writes, “even when it’s painful, memory is sweet.” Even with the good and bad memories, the feeling of belonging overcomes the sense of being lost.
Primo Levi once said, " Human memory is a marvelous but fallacious instrument. The memories which lie within us are not carved in stone; not only do they tend to become erased as the years go by, but often they change, or even increase by incorporating extraneous features.." The memory of a human being is a fascinating matter, but it is not something that stays with us forever. Memories will often change or multiply with unnecessary information, but they are what define you as you.
Their memories will give them an ideal live to go towards or a life in which they want to progress from. If an individual chooses to run from the past in which they lived, it is still a component in their life which shaped them to be who it is they became, despite their efforts to repress those memories. Nevertheless, the positive memories of an individual’s past will also shape who they are. Both good and bad memories are able to give an individual a glimpse into their ideal life and a target in which they wish to strive for and memories in which they can aim to prevent from happening once
In the novel War Brothers written by Sharon E. McKay, she developed all the characters to serve her themes and idea meant from the novel which will be further analyzed. She used Jacob to show that despite the bad situations, he didn't let their friendship down. Similarly, Hannah evolved through the story positively after their friendship progressed. But in contrast, the writer wanted to imply through Tony's new personality after losing a friendship, which was in a negative form. Each character in War Brothers was metamorphosed in a different outline, but to serve one, or several similar messages.
Memories are symbols that are used to demonstrate the progression from the past into the development of one’s current personal identity. We often use our personal memories to investigate our thoughts. Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro are 21st century works that reflect on the use of memoires to enhance personal thoughts to impact perspectives. Perspectives are created and altered by addressing and reflecting on thoughts and feelings towards previous events. In Native Guard, Trethewey uses her memories to develop a perspective on her past and history. In Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro uses Kathy’s memories to develop her actions and decisions. Tretheway and Ishiguro both demonstrate that a memory is a symbol
Both the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, and the poem "The Man he Killed" by Thomas Hardy discuss war. Through both the novel and the poem, it is articulated how the soldiers personally feel about the war and their experiences during the war. The protagonist of the novel, Paul Baumer, and the speaker of the poem both share comparable emotions. Both enroll in the war for reasons other than patriotism, their perception towards war is very analogous, they kill their enemy merely to stay alive and they go to the extent of feeling that if not for the war, they could have been friends with their "enemies".
Have you ever wondered what it would be like in the middle of a war? If so, The War that Saved My Life is a historical fiction book that takes you on the journey of nine year old Ada Smith and her younger brother, Jamie. In my opinion, The War that Saved My Life, is one of the best books I have read and it shows that despite the obstacles in life, there is always a positive outcome. Ada was born with clubfoot, is in the middle of World War II, has a mom that is ashamed of her foot. However, Ada does not let these things get in the way, and solves these problems into a new life.
The description of the smell in the meat house was a horrible experience to the reader who actually did not witness the insident"it is an elemental odor, raw and crude, it is rich, almost sensual and strong.
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
* Slides show that men are lining up to recruit to the army and that
The film emphasizes on the power of our long-term memory and our episodic memories. Would we be happier if we forgot about traumatic past experiences? Or are our long-term memories so tangled up with emotions and sensations that our brain is unable to truly let go of long-term memories? The film also looks at the difference between explicit and implicit memories.
It can be hard to fully comprehend the effects the Vietnam War had on not just the veterans, but the nation as a whole. The violent battles and acts of war became all too common during the long years of the conflict. The war warped the soldiers and civilians characters and desensitized their mentalities to the cruelty seen on the battlefield. Bao Ninh and Tim O’Brien, both veterans of the war, narrate their experiences of the war and use the loss of love as a metaphor for the detrimental effects of the years of fighting.
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
I suppose there is something to be said about these fun and great memories as a force that allows us to feel less alone in this world. There is truly a benefit to reminiscing and basking in our memories. I also think that there is a certain bleakness to the realization that no two people can truly share the same thoughts and emotions, our shared memories are proof that there are an infinite number of things that connect us to millions of strangers. Yet, this sentiment, beautiful as it
Someone once told me that a best friend is someone who tells you how they feel no matter what. Even though it may hurt the person’s feelings, I don’t believe that’s a true best friend. A true best friend should tell you things with kindness and support. In the essay “Secret Ceremonies of Love and Death,” the author realizes that she is soon going to lose her best friend. I wish I would have known when I was going to lose my best friend. The quote "We do not so much need the help of our friends as the confidence of their help in need" by Epicurus means to me that we may think we need our friends help but really they are the ones looking for help inside of us. Jamal was looking for help but I was no where to be found.