Tag Archives: memory

04/10/23

Week 13: Samanta Schweblin’s “Fever Dream”

Wow, I can’t believe it’s the last week of classes–I will definitely miss this class! It has been a great sense of routine and normalcy for me each week, so thanks to everyone for being so insightful all throughout this term for each book we explored:)

This week I had the pleasure of reading “Fever Dream” by Samanta Schweblin. It is a book that made me think of three words in particular: eerie, thought-provoking, and suspenseful. Schweblin’s writing style has a way in which she is able to show the effects of environmental harm, familial love and protection, and psychological unease all in one book–three topics, that in my opinion, are usually not seen all together at once. The book centralizes on the characters of Amanda and Daniel, two polarizing figures that perfectly depict the three words I listed above. Amanda becomes suddenly very ill from suspected poisonous insecticides that were sprayed throughout the area in which she was staying in. David, a boy who continually questions her, helps provoke her memories and recollections to come back to her as the toxins from the insecticide presumably affected her memory and prompted her illness. She is oftentimes discombobulated and her memories are disjointed, but David acts as a constant to help her memories come back. Although it is not exactly implied, it could be suggested that human contact or action/intervention on the environment can have profound impacts on both humans and the earth–typically negative. I keep coming back to this theme of environmental degradation that runs simultaneously with psychological aspects or memory loss–it’s very interesting–I really haven’t seen it done before. I found it refreshing and an interesting way to portray the impacts we as humans have on our surroundings. There is a sense of urgency throughout the novel in which we aim to find the truth, for example, what REALLY happened to Amanda–was it actually the insecticide? David’s questioning throughout makes not only Amanda more curious or uncertain, but perhaps has the same effect on the reader as well. It made me want to keep reading more and more until I reached the end of the book. When faced with memory loss, it is certain that one likely grapples with what is real and what is not, as we see Amanda struggle with that throughout. Overall, I found this novel to be an interesting read. It was unique, and I am thankful for the chance to have read it in this class.

My question for you: I mention that it seems a central theme to this novel is that of environmental harm or the impact that humans have on it–what are some concrete examples of how this plays out in the book? Do you think Schweblin is trying to convey a certain message about the environment through her writing?

03/20/23

Week 10: I, Rigoberta Menchu

Hi everyone,

This was the week I was most interested in because I have friends I met while I was in Guatemala who were affected by the Civil War in the 1980’s and likely have some experiences close to that of what Rigoberta Menchu may have gone through. For quick context, I went to Guatemala in 2019 for a Rotary International trip and visited the same Highlands K’iche region that Rigoberta is from (I was staying in a small village called Cementario Jolomtaj near Barillas in Huehuetenango). I met a good friend of mine who had to flee into the mountains when CIA-backed death squads arrived into his village to murder Indigenous peoples in cold blood.

This book has been on my reading bucket list for years now, ever since I came back from Guatemala. I am happy we got the chance to read it in class. As mentioned in lecture, it is an example that portrays a level of agency on Menchu, to tell her story to the extent in which she feels comfortable, by holding back certain aspects of information through her repeated references to “secrets”–distinguishing the aspect of a testimonio from an autobiography.

What stood out to me most in this book was the recurring theme of moving forward despite the many challenges they face in protecting their land, people, and culture. Guatemala is historically a region very soughted out by “Western” liberal democracies and private fruit companies–ie United Fruit Company–who often resort to the highly-populated Indigenous areas of the highlands to utilize the land for food production–most times it being crops that aren’t even native or widely consumed by Guatemalans (check out an article on this–it is super interesting and highlights the negative impact foreign investment in agriculture has had on Indigenous communities).  Rigoberta and her community in Altiplano aim to resist such changes and burdensome endeavours from white men or other people seeking to strip her people of their land. For example, when some came to take the land in Altiplano, Menchu’s community mobilized to stop that from happening even if it may have been done in a violent manner. This is definitely not just the case for Menchu’s community, but also I am sure that most Guatemalan’s were able to relate to this in some manner, given the fact that these types of interventions are a constant threat to the many diverse Indigenous communities within all 22 Departments of Guatemala.

My question for you is, in what ways do you think this book may have contributed to discourse on human rights? How does Menchu portray memory throughout her novel?

03/6/23

Marquez: Part 2!

Hi everyone!

Wow, two weeks have flown by! I can’t believe we are already on our way to wrapping up with this book. I won’t lie, although I enjoyed this book, I have been DYING to get to Rigoberta Menchu’s book as I have always wanted to delve into that. But, for now! Let’s continue to unpack Maquez’s work:)

This past week was a bit of a struggle for me, so I had a hard time reading in larger chunks as per Jon’s recommendation because I came down with a nasty flu that made me bed-ridden–it sucked. So naturally, while reading it in smaller chunks, as some of my other peers had mentioned, it was much more difficult to keep up with all of the different characters–in fact, a bit overwhelming at times. I also love how this recurring theme of time throughout all books appears and reappears for us to investigate how the author uses it and makes meaning of it to contribute to a certain goal within their writing. In this book, we see how time breaks down not only Macondo, but everyone in it, including the Buendia family. More importantly, we see how time impacts that of memory. What was a town of memories and family and love and fun (with its bad parts, too) eventually becomes one of disillusion, lack of strength AND memories, and dullness after the massacre and plague. But with all this in mind, however you may try to change the trajectory of your own history or actions, or avoid making the same mistakes as the past, they will continue to haunt you–as seen in the book and as mentioned in lecture. We also see a search for eventual longing,  Aureliano through the quote that says: “Aureliano did not understand until then how much he loved his friends, how much he missed them, and how much he would have given to be with them at that moment.” (329). Even though the past leaves memories behind, and that history may repeat itself, Aureliano finds himself missing what once was–something I could relate to.

Overall, despite feeling confused by this book at times, I am glad for the opportunity to have read it. I’m thoroughly excited to delve into the second half of this book in class on both Tuesday and Thursday! For now, I’ll leave you with a question:

 

I notice a lot of people saying the second half of the book was more difficult to follow than the first? What do you consider the main reason for that to be?

02/13/23

Week #6: Rulfo’s “Pedro Paramo”

Like a good chunk of my peers, I find myself in agreeance that this week’s read, Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, was a more enjoyable read because I quite enjoy stories that run along the themes of memory, family, life, and death itself. Even though the book wasn’t exactly in chronological order, I still found it easier to understand, follow along with. The first theme I felt showed very strongly, however, was that of memory.

The book itself begins with Juan Preciado’s visit to Comala to fulfill his promise to his mother, who was presumably on her death bed (4). When his mother says, “make him pay, son, for all those years he put us out of his mind,” the reader can make some general assumptions of what may have went down years prior, but we are not yet aware–but for the mother, the memories are there. Rulfo soon sets the scene, to help the reader, by describing the “dog days” with hot August wind and saponaria blossoms (4). While Paramo enters the town of Comala, the ghost town, this theme of continual scene-setting utilizing first-person narrative and imagery helps effectively portray memory in its entirety–not just memories about or from one person, but from each person that Juan encounters throughout his time in town. From Juan’s interactions with the dead, to Preciado dying partway through the book, to the retelling of memories fron Pedro Paramo’s time, this book constantly thrives off memory and nostalgia. These memories, often filled with the ideas of hope, despair, truth, and longing, are consistent throughout all timeframes and stories told or recounted by each character in the book. In memory, life and death are constant. Not linear, not interchangeable, but always present. Whether that be the characters in which Preciado faces, or the fate he eventually leads to himself. Life and death are all around us, and we can learn from both the present and the past. As mentioned in the video lecture, “the distance between life and death is apparently minimal, almost discernable.” These voices, these stories, they are almost eternal in a way. A quote from the book itself reminded me and really drove home this theme of memory for me–I’ve pasted it below:

“Nothing can last forever; there is no memory, however intense, that does not fade.” (217)

Even the word “fade” or “fading” shows up almost ten times throughout the book–almost each time it is mentioned, whether it is used in a literal or figurative way, refers to memory–with a fear of it being lost or maintained. I found it to be powerful, and it being consistently used throughout the story made the theme stand out all the more overall.

 

My question for you is: Did you pick up on any other central themes in to how memory was conveyed throughout this book? How did these make you feel? How can they assist the reader in understanding the events of the book, especially as it in a non-chronological order?