History_and_Memory

Shannen Smith Yr 12 Advanced English History and Memory Deliberate selection from recollection and fact is often represented in texts you have studied. How effectively has your response been manipulated by the representation of such selection' In your response, refer to your prescribed text and two pieces of additional material. History alone is insufficient in understanding the past. Its authority individually discounts the personal perspective that memory provides. Mark Raphael Baker’s novel The Fiftieth Gate represents how history and memory do not have a singular or absolute truth. Baker explores how there will always be different perspectives throughout past events. Similarly, Pablo Picasso’s 1937 painting ‘Guernica’ and Sian Prior’s literary article ‘Remembering Balibo’ demonstrate how different representations of history and memory can interrelate in order to create a deeper understanding of the past. In addition to this, all three of these texts highlight the complexities within history and memory. Access to the truth is more tangible when it is gleaned through memories of the past rather than sifted from historical data and artifacts. Throughout The Fiftieth Gate, Baker attempts to meld history and memory together, but in doing so he realizes that they do not verify one another. In telling the stories of his parents, Genia and Yossl, Baker discovers the impact of history on personal experience. Whilst researching the story of his father, Baker came across Yossl’s old school report. This small slip of paper represented the hard, factual evidence of his deprived childhood. In discovering Yossl’s poor school attendance, it emphasized his experiences as a child of anti-Semitism. This is also evidenced by Baker’s question of curiosity, ‘Where were you during that last term of school'’. Yossl’s reply was simply ‘scared’. The small words exchanged between father and son further the notion of history’s factual impact on personal understanding. Baker relies on factual evidence as well as memories whilst retelling his Fathers story thus resulting in a fragmented text. Additionally, the fragmented nature of the text often resembles the fragmented nature of memory as it moves between past and present. Yossl was described as being ‘pitifully angry at his memory for failing him’, which furthers the notion of a fragmented memory. However, the use of different discourses has enabled Baker to challenge and question the authority of ‘history’ which has resulted in a greater construction of my personal understanding and perception of the idea of ‘truth’ throughout history. Similarly, Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ represents not only the personal impact and memory of history, but also the importance of perspectives about history. ‘Guernica’ is an oil on canvas painting by Picasso in response to the aerial attack of Guernica Basque Country by German and Italian aircraft on the 26th of April, 1937. While Picasso’s painting depicts the reaction to a particular event, it is a powerful representation of protest against the brutality of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. The bombing of Basque town is remembered more often because of the painting than as war history. ‘Guernica’ itself is painted in black, white and grey with tinges of blue which reflect the pain, violence and chaos experienced by individuals. These tones also capture the somber mood and emotional impact of war. The despair and horror of war is represented by the writhing, distorted figures and animals. The clawing hands and frozen screams of fragmented people emphasize the disorder, confusion and suffering of war. A single moment of a mother carrying her dead child highlights the intense emotional pain of human experience. Also, under a distorted, frightened horse, a man lays broken, his severed arm grasps a shattered sword. The image of the man represents the futility of their opposition and the defeat of the people at the hand of their tormentors. While ‘Guernica’ reveals the personal impact and memory of this event in history, it also highlights the way in which we perceive history as well as the way art is able to contribute to the liberating self-assertion of individuals against overwhelming powers like death and war. In contrast to Yossl’s documented fragments of history and Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, Baker highlights the importance of his mother, Genia’s, memories as she has intense personal experience but very little factual evidence to support her historical testimony. Baker states, ‘Unlike my father, she could never show her children the scars on her arms, hers were invisible’. This emphasizes how Genia’s past cannot be substantiated by primary evidence. Baker comes to realize the critical importance of weaving historical fact and ‘fictionalised’ statements as the veracity of her memories come to validate history. As part of his representation, Baker mixes genre’s to highlight how both have flaws and inadequacies. Genia’s response to these discrepancies is very defensive. Her lack of a factual and documented history functions to displace her experiences as her stories cannot be validated thus putting a strain on her identity. However, The Fiftieth Gate explores the impact of personal experience on memory and therefore history which influenced the way I perceived traditional forms of past events. In addition to this, Sian Prior’s literary article ‘Remembering Balibo’ highlights how the ‘accounts of eye witnesses’ makes the past more accessible and validated. Rather than focusing on the historical data and artifacts of the Balibo Five, Prior demonstrates how history and memory can interrelate using the ‘Russian doll technique of a story-within-a story-within-a-story’ which emphasizes how each event/story of the past has more than one perspective. It represents how memories add depth to history which enriches our subjective understanding as well as our own personal knowledge. She demonstrates the relationship between history and memory and she also highlights how a deeper understanding of the past is created through different and vast perspectives. This article explored how varying perspectives can contribute to the overall understanding of the past. By showing the connection between documented history and personal experience, Prior was able to tell the story of the Balibo Five and ‘bring it back to life’. In doing so she gave me a sense of veracity and authenticity as she challenged the way I viewed the notion of what history really meant. Mark Raphael Baker’s novel The Fiftieth Gate highlighted how the past is not finite. Shifting perceptions, contrasting moments of suffering and triumph all contribute to my enriched knowledge of how the past can be represented. In addition to this, Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica’ and Sian Prior’s literary article ‘Remembering Balibo’ explore how memories are a commodity as well as how tangible links with the past become even more tenuous as time continues. All three of these texts have an important cultural function in cementing verifiable truths about history into a public record. Each text emphasized the importance of the relationship between history and memory in creating a more accurate and personally accessible version of history. Authenticity and verifiable details make history a more reliable ‘story’ of human experience through the additional use of personal memories. Word count – 1, 146