...gate and one other related text of your own choosing represent history and memory in unique and evocative ways. The interplay of history and memory combine to provide greater insight into events. Through the manipulation of textual forms and features, Mark Bakerʼs hybrid text “The Fiftieth Gate” expands and humanizes oneʼs understanding of the Holocaust in unique and evocative ways. A unique feature of the text is clever fusion between personal accounts and documented history using mediums such as, interviews, official documents, poetry and song. This enhances the stories of the authorʼs parents, Yossl and Genia, whilst evocatively capturing the atrocities of the Holocaust. The relationship between history and memory is further explored in Kevin Ruddʼs “Sorry apology to Stolen Generations”. Bakerʼs “The Fiftieth Gate” suggests that memory humanises historical events, juxtaposed by the emotionless discourse of history in unique and evocative ways. Baker provides insight into the historical events associated with the Holocaust,emphasising number of deaths that occurred during the genocide. In Gate 26, Baker explores the deaths Geniaʼs parents witnessed in the lines, “Among 1380 people, one family survived by chance. They were Leo Krochmal and his wife Rosa who witnessed the shooting,” The impersonal tone and simple language in the lines underscores the straightforward and detached nature of history. In contrast, the recount of Genia hiding from Germans in Gate 6...
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...Analyse the ways history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights. In your response, you must make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least one other related text. Through history, documented evidence of past events, and memory, personal recollections of the past, a representation is conveyed. The perspective of the representation of the history and memory of events ultimately shapes the responder’s understanding of the event. This is evident on the Smithsonian website of American History, ‘Bearing Witness to History’ and Richard Drew’s photograph, ‘The Falling Man’, where the responders are exposed to different language forms and features that generate compelling and unexpected insights into the events of September 11. The Smithsonian website of American History, ‘Bearing Witness to History’, allows the responders to develop compelling and unexpected insights into the events of September 11 through a perspective built on American values. The homepage of the website adopts a muted and neutral colour scheme, creating a sensitive atmosphere to memorialise those who lost their lives. The respect created for those affected suggests that even now, more than a decade later after the event, individuals are still suffering and the pain and anguish created by the event is enduring. The title of the website September 11: Bearing Witness to History’ is in present tense, which implies that the history of this specific event is an ongoing process that is...
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...Analyse the way in which history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights. – Jake Cronin The interaction between history and memory is a complex and dialectic process through which perceptions of the past are negotiated, reinforced or challenged. Despite official history’s dependency on validating its claims through documented evidence, it must be acknowledged that it is not objective and remains vulnerable to distortion of those with political power or hegemony. Similarly, the subjective nature of memory allows for official history to be vulnerable to the bias of personal experience and differing perspectives. Furthermore, although official history and subjective memory both provide adequate insights into the past, it is through the consideration and combination of the two that compelling and unexpected insights into the past are generated. Paul Keating’s ‘The Redfern Address’ offers a reasonable challenge to the dominant historical narrative surrounding the European colonisation of Australia and their acts of social injustice in regards to Indigenous Australians. Similarly, Shaun Tan’s ‘Memorial’ explores Australia’s wartime history through the medium of a community’s personal experiences, perspectives and memories converging to form history, and illuminates the way in which history is dictated by those with political power. Through the dialectic interplay of history and meaning, compelling and unanticipated comprehensions of the past are generated and are...
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...Hiroshima and memory Background During the final stage of World War II 1945, the United States conducted the atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Such events are the only use of nuclear weapons in the world. The atomic bombs were created by the Manhattan Project, which was a research and development program established by the United States with the United Kingdom and Canada that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. The United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945 by threatening Japan with “prompt and utter destruction”. However, such ultimatum was ignored by the Japanese government. Thus, two nuclear weapons that developed by the Manhattan Project had been deployed by the United States. Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bomb mission and Nagasaki was the second target of the mission. The first nuclear weapon named Little Boy was dropped from an American B-29 Superfortress, known as Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and followed by another nuclear weapon named Fat Man dropped from the B-29 Bockscar on the city of Nagasaki on 9 August. The official figures by Japanese at the time put the death toll at 118,661 and the later estimates the final toll was about 140,000 of Hiroshima’s 350,000 population including military personnel and those who died later due to radiation. On the other hand, the explosion of Fat Man event killed 39,000 and caused a further...
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...MODULE C – History and Memory Sample 1 How has your understanding of events, personalities or situations been shaped by their representations in the texts you have studied. Refer to your prescribed text and at least TWO other related texts of your own choosing. History can be defined as “the methodical record of public events” where memory is defined as “the faculty by which events are recalled or kept in mind”. Thus history and memory interrelate as history can be seen as the contextual justification for memory. “The Fiftieth Gate” is a poignant interweaving of history and memory. The text follows protagonist, Mark Baker an historian, son of Holocaust survivors Genia and Yossl (Joe), on an historical journey through memory, to uncover the origins of his past and act as a catalyst for future generations to also connect with their history. Mark Baker’s journey through history and memory is also executed through his conventional ideas that memory is biased and less valid than history. There are numerous references to the discrepancies between the personal memories of his parents and the documented history Mark as an historian believes. In this way it is apparent that Mark is on a quest for verification, “my facts from the past are different”. This displays the flaw Mark traditionally notes in memory and his need for historical evidence. As responders accompany Mark on his journey, they also encounter the complexity of simultaneously being a son and an historian. This...
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...structure united within an overarching narrative to embody how the disparate aspects of past human experience can be understood through the symbiotic reconciliation of the once polar oppositions of history and memory. Like Baker, Joe Kubert, in his graphic novel, Yossel April 19, 1943, deliberately chooses a raw drawing style and fictionalised recreations of silenced voices of the past to embody the subjective reality that is omitted from documented history. Both...
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...represent aspects of history and memory to give the responders a deeper understanding of people or events in the text. Do you agree? In your response make detailed reference to Smithsonian September 11 Website and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing. (2012 Independent Trial) Composers in this elective do indeed represent aspects of history and memory to give responders a deeper understanding of people or events. Once the dichotomous extremities of history and memory are viewed from a symbiotic perspective, responders gain an enlightened awareness of the representation. History’s objectivity lets it fail to give to give a voice to individual experiences, while the subjectivity of memory enables it to encompass an emotional connection. The varied representation of the Smithsonian September 11 Website and Michael Moore’s 2004 documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 consciously represents the interplay between history and memory to give responders a deeper understanding of the event while indicating how the composer’s purpose and perspective affects representation, and thus meaning. The multimedia textual form of the Smithsonian Website enables it to uniquely represent history through the interactivity of the site whereby hyperlinks display the webbed nature of memory. This is furthered as the artefacts are uniquely placed in a non-chronological order allowing responders to freely navigate through the collection and create their own memory of the event, providing...
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...Analyse the ways history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights. In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least one other related text of your own choosing. History and memory work together in order to generate compelling and unexpected insights into the past. Stephen Frears' film The Queen allows the audience to gain unexpected insights about the titular character, and thus gain sympathy for her position. Likewise, The Outsider, a painting by Gordon Bennett, uses his own emotions to impact on his painting, creating a highly personal artwork that provides insights into the Indigenous Australia hardships endured during assimilation polices. Hence it can be seen that history and memory are interconnected and together portray a more cohesive picture of past events. Insights into Queen Elizabeth II's emotions during the aftermath of Diana's death can be gained through observing the interplay between the collective and personal memories of the event. Frears' imagined interpretation of the Queen's vulnerability challenges the public's collective memory of Diana's death. Frears' perspective is immediately depicted in the opening intertextual quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV: "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". Sympathy is created as Frears suggests the difficulty of the Queen's role of being a leader, a role that she interpreted as having to be stoic and strong. This is supported by Robin Janvrin's confession to Blair, body...
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...Collective Memory. A Methodological Reflection. François-Xavier Lavenne, Virginie Renard, François Tollet1 Introduction In the writing of their fictional works, novelists often have to reflect on the functioning of memory, for memory lies at the heart both of inner life and of human experience in general. It is indeed in the works of writers such as Marcel Proust or Jorge Luis Borges that the best exemplifications of the subjective experience of memory are to be found. However, from a strictly mnemonic point of view, literature provides more than a means of reflecting on memory: it is also the site of the rebirth and construction of individual and collective memories, which can then serve as a foundation for the writing of fictional works. Creative writing has a meiotic function and is as such a powerful tool capable of rescuing memories from oblivion and bringing them back to life, thus reconciling the past with the present. The present article seeks to bring to bear new perspectives on the relationship between a novelist’s personal memories, collective memory, and the fictional narratives partially inspired by these two types of memory. In the first section we briefly examine the distinction traditionally made between individual memory and collective memory, which we then try to reconcile so as to arrive at an approach to the mnemonic phenomenon that best fits the needs of literary scholars. In the second section we challenge the conventional distinction made between memory and...
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...Essay According to Blight, Fredrick Douglas fought hard to protect the memory of the war. What was Douglas’s memory of the war and why did he try to protect it? North vs. South, Confederates vs. The Union. Rifles were fired… brother vs. brother. Men were named heroes for seemingly valiant acts in battle. We learn many things from the past. A nation was literally ripped in half in what was called the bloodiest conflict in American History. History is not an obsolete thing. Rather, it teachers valuable lessons. It can’t be denied how tragic the Civil War really was in American History. “It is not well to forget the past. Memory was given to man for some wise purpose. The past is the mirror in which we discern the dim outlines of the future and by which we may make them”(97). Prominent American Figure Fredrick Douglas was born a slave, educated, freed himself then became an accomplished author that fought for equality for blacks and many other groups in America. In the text Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory, and the American Civil War, author David W. Blight describes Douglas’s memory of the Civil War as something beyond the battlefield. Fredrick Douglas recognized the heroism and the death that happened on the battlefield. However there was much more than the combat and battle happenings that Douglas remembered. Douglas remembered what it was to be a slave; this very insight was the key to his memory of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War. Douglass fought “using...
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...primary sources to really bring to life this taboo section of history, Zinn has paved the way for Americans to look back on their own history, and even modern-day events, and critically examine the truth that we accept so easily, without a second thought, especially since some events today and their justifications mirror similar events seen throughout history. The ongoing debate about drone strikes, their accuracy, and the ethics behind them closely mirror Zinn’s “Strategic Bombing” missions and their effects. While drones may be more accurate than the bombs used in World War II, their effectiveness is still called into question. In an article from the New York Times, it is revealed that “…when operators in...
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...The power behind memories A commonly used quote reads “Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose” (Arnold). In “The Piano Lesson”, August Wilson creates a theme of holding onto the things that you love and the effects of slavery. Boy Willie fights over the piano to gain success while Berniece fights over it because she holds onto the dear memories of the Piano and the meaning behind it. In this play, the piano symbolizes the family history of the Charles family and it creates a theme of memory and slavery. The Piano’s History symbolizes all the wrongs about slavery. Doaker: "[Willie Boy] carved all this. […] He got a picture of his mama…Mama Esther…and his daddy, Boy Charles. […] He got all...
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...Stephen Frears, utilises the director's imagined memories of the events succeeding Diana's death to portray the Queen, and her actions, in a warmer light. A compelling and challenging view of Diana is also presented in the film, furthering Frears' purpose of convincing the audience of the difficulty of the Queen's position and hence softening the public image of her. Diana is initially presented through a montage of grainy archival footage, where Diana almost seems to be courting and teasing the media with her image. While this archival media footage adds authenticity to Frears' account, it also demonstrates how insulting this behaviour would have been to the rigid policies of the monarchy. Thus as Diana is depicted as causing trouble for the monarchy, sympathy for the Queen's position upon her death is created. This compelling portrayal of Diana, through historical footage, allows Frears to validate his personal memories and in this way the symbiotic nature of history and memory is revealed. insights into Queen Elizabeth II's emotions during the aftermath of Diana's death can be gained through observing the interplay between the collective and personal memories of the event. Frears' imagined interpretation of the Queen's vulnerability challenges the public's collective memory of Diana's death. Frears' perspective is immediately depicted in the opening intertextual quote from Shakespeare's Henry IV: "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". Sympathy is created as Frears suggests...
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...Introduction to Western Culture Home sweet home: Tangible Memories of an Uprooted Childhood Anat Hecht This text is an extract from a book call Home Possessions: Material Culture Behind Closed Doors, published by Daniel Miller edition in 2001. This chapter focuses on one woman’s past, memoirs and the link between her past, history and all the symbolic ‘materials’ in her actual home. The woman’s nickname is Nan and this is how she is call during the whole paper. She basically tells the Writer about some key events of her childhood that are part of her self-identity and after, analysis of these events are made by the author in little paragraphs. The text is split in six parts, the first one being an introduction enhancing the main idea, which is, how a Home can be defined as a private museum of memories. The second part is call A world of Memory, and it is about how the author and Nan first met, but also and mainly about Nan’s childhood which, as she said, was probably the most ‘beautiful’ part of her life, because when you are a child, you only care about things that makes you happy. Third part is call ‘Shattered Home’ and is surely the saddest part of Nan’s remembrance. Her father was called off to war and her mother was pregnant, hence, she had to stay home while Nan had to go to war camps with her five years old younger brother she had to take care of from that moment: “All she had left were memories and an extraordinary ability to narrate and convey them”...
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...A Line in the Sand - The Alamo in Blood and Memory is a historical book by noted historians Randy Roberts and James Olson. It serializes a comprehensive account of the Alamo, a battle between Mexican forces led by General Antonio López in the predawn moments of March 6, 1836. All the people behind the walls of the Alamo lay dead, including Travis, Bowie, and Crockett. The trio has since been immortalized in Texas as heroes of freedom who stood for political and nationalistic values in the wake of Mexican incursion. Alongside their heroism are a overabundance of myths that surround both the Mexicans who put them to death and the real motive of their sacrifice. The book presents a rarefied, evidenced view of the battle to fill the current void whereby the interpretation of Alamo has been left, to quote the authors, “to Walt Disney and John Wayne”. Author Information...
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