Experience Through Memory

Memory has more of an impact on our identity than most would think. Memory shapes our identity through the experiences we have had in the past, and through the lessons we have learned from these experiences. Memory not only shows us what we have done in the past, but tells us why we did it and how we went about doing it. It makes us think about what was happening at that point in time that caused the experience you had to play out the way it did. These experiences stay with us throughout our lives and help shape who we are and how we act.
In the case of the video we watched in class about the “Unknown White Male,” if we assume that he did lose his memory then we can see that he had no memory from that point on. Because of this, he saw the world completely fresh and new. Everything was a new experience for him. We have no idea what kind of man he was before this experience, and only know of the man who has no memory. However in the reading about the boy and his family and his memories about language, we can see that this experience definitely affected him in some way. He sees this experience from his own point of view and will always remember it that way, while his family may remember it differently.
Our identities can be shaped by the memories we have, or the memories we have forgotten. The things you remember and forget change how you see the world and often how you see yourself. I don’t believe that this sense of identity can be achieved unless memory was involved in some way.

David W.
Eng 289-014