History Vs. Memory: The Representation Of History And Memory

Finding the ultimate truth is not the purpose of the representation of history and memory but to gain a deeper understanding. It is only through a combination of personal and public stories that the realities of the past emerge. Mark Baker’s 1997 memoir, The Fiftieth Gate, depicts Mark Baker undergoing a “journey through memory” of his parents’ past, and The Reader (1995), a novel penned by Bernhard Schlink details the relations of Germany’s past and present through the affair between a young boy (Michael Berg) and an older woman (Hanna Schmitz). Both texts powerfully convey the notion that memory provides the testimonies which history fails to offer as it evokes emotion and empathy and that both history and memory are valid sources to create

The Fiftieth Gate is a polyphonous text interweaving historical documentation and memories and has a more personal objective, which demonstrates the intrinsic value of history over memory, as opposed to finding the definite truth. Memory can generate empathy for the suffering of others, which the “dry, white paper” of documentary history generally cannot provide. Genia said, "They could have killed us; you don't understand, you weren't there," and the separation between the pronouns, "us" and "you, demonstrates that there is a limit to history in terms of the human emotion of empathy, which only come with memory. Moreover, Baker has a very personal agenda in this novel to evince the psychological experience of the Holocaust. When Yossl asserted that “People were scared, the dogs were chasing us, everyone was crying…” enforces that memory is personal and the rhythm in speech and stream of consciousness of traumatic events creates empathy. Thus, the representation of history is not about finding the truth, but to further understand how the Holocaust survivors

The novel commences with Michael Berg’s recollections of his childhood and his relationship with Hanna. His first encounter with Hanna was unpleasant as he becomes sick in front of the building in which Hanna lives. “When I was fifteen, I got Hepatitis” and the reference to hepatitis or jaundice is reminiscent of the yellow Star of David and the jaundice that figuratively plagued the German society. Hanna then cleans the vomit from the pavement with the water. The extended metaphor of Michael’s hepatitis, alludes to the moral decay and unhealthy situation that prevailed in Nazi Germany. The cleaning of the vomit suggests the possibilities of curing, restoration and forgiveness. The reader can gain a deeper understanding to the catastrophe in Germany due to this personal memory of his Hepatitis as it compares closely how he perceived the world at the time. Also, before the trial proceeded, Michael said, “I felt nothing: my feelings were numbed”, which demonstrates his detached feelings towards Hanna. By dictating his feelings, the reader gains a broader knowledge on how he felt during this