Week 8 - Perec Georges "W, or the memory of childhood"
This week, I read ‘W, or the memory of childhood’ by Perec Georges.
I was confused at first. In part one, the narrator mentioned how his father died when he was 6 and got adopted by his father’s neighbours. However, in part two his father died when he was 4 and was adopted by his father’s sister and her husband. Then I re-read it and found out that they have mentioned this story will be alternating between two texts. The narrator switched from one story to another. I found this kind of transition distracting as I couldn't figure if the texts had switched to the other or not. However, it got better as the story progressed because I realized that we are able to tell the story has been switched by the font. One text is in Italic font and the other is not.
Despite the narrator mentioning how he has no memories of his childhood, he kept trying to recall the memories of when he was a kid. His parents passed away when he was young and he barely has any memories with them, yet he still talks about them. On page 12, he mentioned “like everyone else, or almost everyone, I had a father and a mother, a potty, a cat, a rattle, and, later on, a bicycle…Like everyone else, I have forgotten everything about the earliest years of my existence”. I found that texts give off the feelings of loneliness. He may just be expressing that he is like others and has what everyone needs at first. To me, it feels more like he has lost his sense of identity and is sarcastic at the fact that he ‘started’ just like ‘everyone else’. I feel sorry for him as it seems to me that he is trying to connect himself to his parents by the memories of others and the stuff he possesses (ex: photograph of his parents). As the narrator does not have many memories with them, most of the information he knows about them is being told by others (his aunts). He even saved up the money his aunt had given him for the bus just to buy a soldier toy. I believe the reason he got it is due to his father. He wanted to feel more connected to him.
The question I have for the class is: Do you think one is able to find a sense of belonging from their memories?
Hey Celine!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I think that especially for Perec, it is definitely possible to find a sense of belonging from their memories. As I touched on in my blog post, I think it is important for Perec to recount his childhood memories in attempts to understand and come to terms with everything he went through.
Hi Celine!
ReplyDeleteI strongly think people are able to find a sense of belonging from their memories, in fact, it might even be where most of our sense of belonging comes from. I think this could be why Perec seems like such a sad character, as I too found myself feeling sorry for him throughout the reading. I think memories, however accurate or inaccurate, give us a feeling of shared experience with others, they help us to connect with ones we lived the events with. To not have that, and to have your loved ones die at a young age, would likely cause a lot of internal conflict with identity, which I think Perec is dealing with.
Hey Celine! I think that when most of our memories are accurate, we can find a sense of belonging in our memories, but if, like the author, our memories are refuted by people around us, it will only add to a feeling of confusion and helplessness.
ReplyDeleteHi Celine,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! To answer you question I do think one is able to find a sense of belonging from their memories. In the story for Perec recalling his memories was a way to still hold onto his family.