According to Joan Didion's essay "On Going Home", continuing changes in life makes it almost impossible to remove memories of one's past. Especially when one has been away from a previous home, which that person was raised, then return to that same home a number of years later. In a home which family and friends shared memories of events, news, gossip and situations, whether it be bad or good. Old artifacts and various family heirlooms in the home that stimulates a memory of those old times when used. Surrounding areas of that old home are remembered just as well also. Being in a new home makes the old memories even more missed. These may be the strongest influences in why memories are kept and remembered.
When someone is away from their original home, meaning a home that the certain person was raised and grew up at, there is no doubt that the home will be missed. It would be forgotten but only at a certain extent. An extent that things will be remembered about that home every time someone relates something to it. But when a person is returned to that old home, like Didian, the memories are even more apparent than while away from home. Didain was overloaded with memories that were once forgotten. These memories are forgotten, and then quickly aroused with a simple touch, sight, smell or sound. People have different relations with memories and how they conceive them, but Didian makes it very apparent that these memories about a home that is missed and forgotten exists inside of us all.
Physical items such as family heirlooms, "teacups"(Didian 373), or the condition of a house are strong reminders of past memories. Instead of a thought trying to relate one thing to another, an object can have it's own history. ...
... middle of paper ...
...missed. Too much remembrance will definitely impair judgment and living conditions of one's present life. It should be very private and for one's thoughts only. Remembering past places once lived at and how much different the weather, conditions and surroundings were. People that a person used to interact with now will never have even remotely the same conversations that the same person used to with old family and friends. A piece of clothing, an eating instrument or even a musical instrument that were remembered will somewhat relate to an event that happened in the past. Just a few examples of how memories will never be forgotten. Memories will always be remembered, sometimes forgotten but always revived as a person's life changes.
Works Cited
Tropp, Sandra Fehl and Ann Pierson D'Angelo, editors. Essays in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Memory is both a blessing and a curse; it serves as a reminder of everything, and its meaning is based upon interpretation. In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies Dedé lives through the memory of her family and her past. She tells the stories of her and her sisters lives leading up to their deaths, and reflects upon those memories throughout her daily life. Dedé lives on for her sisters, without her sisters, but all along carrying them with her throughout her life, never moving on. Dedé lives with the shame, sadness, and regret of all that has happened to her sisters, her marriage, and her family. Dedé’s memories serve as a blessing in her eyes, but are a burden
Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. Clark, Larry. A. A. "*******your essay ideas*******." E-Mail message. 10 March 1996.
The memories of an individual will give shape to their own identity and how they are able to perceive the world around them; memories allow an individual to look back at where they were and where they are now and to see the contrast of their current life. In the text “Ru”, Kim Thúy, the narrator, finds herself looking back at her memories of her life and dreaming for more. When she arrives at Mirabel airport in Quebec, she is awestruck by the peace and beauty of it compared to her past in in the refugee camps of Malaysia and war torn Vietnam. Throughout her visit, she is able to dream of her future outside of her bleak memories of her past, and imagine a future without the constant strife of living in a post war life. Kim is able to use her memories to shape who she wants to be and allows her to truly admire where she is and where she wants to go, setting a path for her to follow throughout life. In the text, “Ru”, Kim Thúy uses her own past and memories to demonstrate the idea that an individual's memories will shape who they are and show them a life they want to live, whether it is a memory they want to revisit or a memory in which they wish to leave behind. Kim’s present is influenced greatly by her past and allows her to appreciate the little things all that much
Didion begins her essay by expounding a note that was written in her personal notebook. The author carries out her explanation by first quoting her note and then following that with a flashback that relates to it. Didion uses flashbacks to support the idea that writing down an event could assist in the remembrance
Coontz, Stephanie. “For Better, For Worse.” The Contemporary Reader. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. 10th edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. 496-499. Print.
Memories are a stockpile of good and bad experiences that are retained of a people, places. How do you remember your childhood memories? Do certain people, places or things trigger these memories to the past? Does the knowledge of these experience still affect your life today? Throughout the novel
He teaches his readers two valuable lessons that he learned through his experience of dumpster diving; take only what you can use, and the short existence of material things. I agree wholeheartedly with these two principles. Spiritual and mental things last for a much longer time than any knick knack ever can. And indeed it is easy to believe that an object holds a sentiment to us, think backwards to what that object first transformed from. A treasure chest, a block of wood, a log, a tree, a small seed. Look at that sentimental object for what it really is and it truly is nothing more than what we make out of it. Yet we still have the sentiments and memories that object supposedly holds. I too believe that there is no reason in holding onto things that we don’t need either. Eighner is trying to explain to us that we shouldn’t place our happiness in such things that clutter our lives and are really just
In the poem, Harjo portrays the importance of recalling the past to help shape one’s identity. She uses the repetition of the word “Remember” to remind that while the past may be history, it still is a defining factor in people’s lives (l. 1). This literary technique
“Holding onto past memories helps humans avoid pain in the future. These experiences also help them make better decisions in the future.” (Kenny) Many people advise others to learn from the past and apply those memories so that you can effectively succeed by avoiding repeating past mistakes. On the contrary, people who get too caught up with the past are unable to move on to the future. Memories are the foundation of a person's mindset because what you make of them is entirely up to you.
The first issue that needs to be addressed however is what exactly is memory? “ Without memory we would be servants of the moment, with nothing but our innate reflexes to help us deal with the world. There would be no language, no art, no science, no culture. Civilization itself is the distillation of human memory” (Blakemore 1988). The simple interpretation of Blakemore’s theory on what memory is that a person’s memory is at least one of the most important things in their life and without it civilization itself could not exist.
The interdependence of memory and identity is not unproblematic. Self-assessment and assessment of the characters in the novel will lead one to realise that manipulation of the past is integral...
... middle of paper ... ... The. N. p. : University of Chicago Press, 2009.
Most people are very convinced that they have memories of past experiences because of the event itself or the bigger picture of the experience. According to Ulric Neisser, memories focus on the fact that the events outlined at one level of analysis may be components of other, larger events (Rubin 1). For instance, one will only remember receiving the letter of admission as their memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia. However, people do not realize that it is actually the small details that make up their memories. What make up the memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia are the hours spent on writing essays, the anxiety faced due to fear of not making into the university and the happiness upon hearing your admission into the school; these small details are very important in creating memories of this experience. If people’s minds are preset on merely thinking that memories are the general idea of their experiences, memories become very superficial and people will miss out on what matters most in life. Therefore, in “The Amityville Horror”, Jay Anson deliberately includes small details that are unnecessary in the story to prove that only memory can give meaning to life.
Finding out about antiques, relics, and customs through narrating has formed who I am. These three things have inhabited of all societies to realize who they are. Family customs demonstrate how individuals experience their lives and cooperate with others. They additionally indicate how individuals respond when a relative weds into a group of an alternate ethnic foundation. Relics are great cases of material things that can instruct about one 's family history. Antiquities show who individuals are. This is valid for every single ethnic foundation.
Everyone has a special place that people will never forget. Sometimes it is because there were places that people experienced great joy or comfort. A special place represents peoples’ special memories either good or bad. Memory will following people whole life, and store people’s heart deeper. Good memory will coming all time. My special place and my memory is my grandparent’s house; my grandparent’s house practically is my second home. I would never forget that special place because of things going on my grandparent’s house, which is symbolized by my grandparent’s love.