A memory has different ways to function varying from one person to another. The memory itself is defined as the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information. Trauma is something else that can be attached to a memory and it is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. Memory plays a tremendous role in our lives as well as in our society. A memory can prevent us from making mistakes as well as it can haunt us to the point of break down. Are all memories worth to be remembered of? In Regenerstion by Pat Barker as well as in The IMIGRANTS by W.G. Sebald we see a flow of narrative that underlines traumatic memories. On this paper we will focus our attention on Billy Prior, one of the character in Regeneration, and
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As Prior, Ambros has a clear memory of his past, which is presented to us more explicitly as the potential bearer of both salvation and self-destruction. Adelwarth is constantly tormented by a tragically photographic memory of him and his friend Cosmo; therefore, he chooses to have his mind, self and ultimately life exterminated by electroshock. His life is completely ravaged by the death of Cosmo. He is tortured by all this memory that were someday pleasant, but had become unpleasant. Aunt Fini affirms, “I gradually became convinced that Uncle Adelwarth had an infallible, memory, but that, at the same time he scarcely allowed himself access to it.”(The Emigrants, pg.100). I believe that Ambrose would have given anything to forget all that he could remember in order to free himself from the horrible death of his friend, but is problem is that he could not accept the present; he did not want to give up on …show more content…
We can call these “involuntary memories” that comes back in form of dreams or nightmares. Because Craiglockhart was a war hospital and the color khaki, being the war uniform, was dominant; therefore, it always brought back the horrible memories of the war. It is the same case with Ambros who Leaving in the Solomon’s house even after the death of Cosmo and then his father and the wife, has trouble forgetting. It is normal that the memory that he had from the Solomon and mostly from Cosmo haunted him over and over. Because memories are stored internally through our brain, mostly the unpleasant ones, they come back constantly in many different forms and make it difficult for us to forget unpleasant events. In fact I have experienced that kind of memory that I wished I could erase from my brain because it was haunting my nights. It happened one night when we received the news that the child of our neighbor was killed by a truck, and they describe to us how her cerebrum came out of her forehead. Even though I did not witness the event, the image that was described to us that night came back to my mind over and over as if I witnessed it. It came back haunting my nights and I was scared all the time to be alone for a long period of time until I forget a little bit about it. That was a demonstration of what scientists call “false memory”, but still it acted as if it was real, and as if I was present on
As Prior, Ambros has a clear memory of his past, which is presented to us more explicitly as the potential bearer of both salvation and self-destruction. Adelwarth is constantly tormented by a tragically photographic memory of him and his friend Cosmo; therefore, he chooses to have his mind, self and ultimately life exterminated by electroshock. His life is completely ravaged by the death of Cosmo. He is tortured by all this memory that were someday pleasant, but had become unpleasant. Aunt Fini affirms, “I gradually became convinced that Uncle Adelwarth had an infallible, memory, but that, at the same time he scarcely allowed himself access to it.”(The Emigrants, pg.100). I believe that Ambrose would have given anything to forget all that he could remember in order to free himself from the horrible death of his friend, but is problem is that he could not accept the present; he did not want to give up on …show more content…
We can call these “involuntary memories” that comes back in form of dreams or nightmares. Because Craiglockhart was a war hospital and the color khaki, being the war uniform, was dominant; therefore, it always brought back the horrible memories of the war. It is the same case with Ambros who Leaving in the Solomon’s house even after the death of Cosmo and then his father and the wife, has trouble forgetting. It is normal that the memory that he had from the Solomon and mostly from Cosmo haunted him over and over. Because memories are stored internally through our brain, mostly the unpleasant ones, they come back constantly in many different forms and make it difficult for us to forget unpleasant events. In fact I have experienced that kind of memory that I wished I could erase from my brain because it was haunting my nights. It happened one night when we received the news that the child of our neighbor was killed by a truck, and they describe to us how her cerebrum came out of her forehead. Even though I did not witness the event, the image that was described to us that night came back to my mind over and over as if I witnessed it. It came back haunting my nights and I was scared all the time to be alone for a long period of time until I forget a little bit about it. That was a demonstration of what scientists call “false memory”, but still it acted as if it was real, and as if I was present on