Perception Of Memories In Fein's A New Perspective

We tend to think of our memories as if they are static or one-dimensional. This tendency is fallacious, as our interpretations of memories perpetually progress, evolve and mature. In truth, our perception of memories evolve as we create new ones. Fein’s brilliant personal narrative “A New Perspective” gives profound insight on the human consciences’ perception of memories and the manner in which they shape lives and character. Through metaphorical representation of our memories, vivid imagery and her astute diction, Fein explores the progression of in our perception of recollections.

Fein introduces and concludes her discourse with an analogy of memories to a film clip. In a similar vein to memories, film clips appear to be, on the outset,

She devotes two paragraphs of her essay to describing the “marvelous sounds and smells that drifted down to [her] from the kitchen” in her friend Connie’s house and the lack of “wonderful aromas” at her own kitchen. Not only does Fein describe the paucity of food at her house but she also alludes to the lack of nurture she was provided. She states that the food she was provided as a child, “never really mattered”, however she recalls it in great detail. This is evidence of the fact that she associated the food she had with the lack of nourishment and care provided to her. She equates warm dinner cooked by a “mother” a true example of maternal nourishment, to something she longed for and lacked in her childhood. Her use of imagery in this sense becomes understandable when we take a look at her biography. Fein “has worked in the field of social social services as a case worker for abused and neglected children.” She understands nourishment and neglect and the significance of a hot meal for a child much better than others. These memories, that had made Fein feel “cheated”, appear to have evolved into a source of motivation for her work in