Perception and Memory in The Keeper of the Books, The Men We Carry in Our Minds, and Once More to the Lake

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The three authors Jorge Luis Borges, Scott Russell Sanders, and E.B White all have different stories yet somehow they tie together. Borges’ “The Keeper of the Books”, Sanders’ “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” and White’s “Once More to the Lake” all touch upon perception throughout their stories. Their perceptions thoroughly shape their stories, but their memories also influence and shadow their perception as well. Throughout this essay I hope to prove how memories influence and tie together with our perception of our individuality.

There are two different types of memory; individual and collective. Individual memory is defined in the article “Individual and Collective Memory” written by Sara Hanneman and Brianna Brandon, as “a personal interpretation of an event from one’s life” (Hanneman, Brown). Collective memory, however, as defined by dictionary.com, is “a memory or memories shared or recollected by a group, as a community, or culture” (dictionary.com) To compare these two we can consider September 11, 2001. September 11 was a tragedy that shook not only the United States, but the entire world. In one way or another, almost every person in the United States at the time was effected by it. Whether they had a direct connection or not wasn’t relevant; it changed conditions. Even if someone was born after 2001, they are still affected because of the changes the government put in place and are involved in to this day because of this catastrophe. The way one remembers this tragedy is going to differ with everyone. Not one person is going to feel the same way about it as anyone else. The way our individual and personal memory handles this situation is going to influence our collective memory on the situation and may also influen...

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...ve Memory." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .

Hanneman, Sara, and Brianna Brandon. "Individual vs. Collective Memory." - Aftermaths. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .

Sen. "Understanding Your Individuality." Calm Down Mind RSS. N.p., 21 July 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.

Sundem, Garth. "How You Remember, How You Decide: Memory Part I." Psychology Today. Sussex Directories, Inc., 05 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Thomas, Ben. "What’s Individuality, and Where Does It Come From? | MIND Guest Blog, Scientific American Blog Network." What’s Individuality, and Where Does It Come From? | MIND Guest Blog, Scientific American Blog Network. Scientific American, 22 May 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
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