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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow


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What do the characters in the novel decide to remember through their games? Do you feel one must decide to remember, or is memory more random?

Created: 03/30/23

Replies: 5

Posted Mar. 30, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

What do the characters in the novel decide to remember through their games? Do you feel one must decide to remember, or is memory more random?

Marx muses while in his coma: "Memory, you realized long ago, is a game that a healthy-brained person can play all the time, and the game of memory is won or lost on one criterion: Do you leave the formation of memories to happenstance, or do you decide to remember?" (page 286).

What do the characters in the novel decide to remember through their games? Do they acknowledge the role and value of happenstance in the creation of their real world and their imagined worlds? Do you feel one must decide to remember, or is memory more random?


Posted Mar. 31, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
cathyoc

Join Date: 04/26/17

Posts: 247

RE: What do the characters in the novel ...

The characters in this novel choose to remember how they met and return to those memories when things get strained. For Sam and Sadie remembering the many hours spent playing games while in the hospital was a memory they returned to often.
I do think that many memories have to be purposefully gone over to remain solid. storytelling with family or friends often acts as a way to cement memories and strengthen connections.


Posted Apr. 02, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: What do the characters in the novel ...

The memories Sam & Sadie are happier ones, and serve to remind them of their connection to each other. And I think shared memories, especially good ones, are the things that stick with a person (although my husband & I frequently have conversations about an experience and find our memories are different about it). I think that's especially true when these memories are deliberately revisited.

Personally, though, I find my individual memories are very random. I'll find myself in the shower thinking about something that hasn't crossed my mind in decades and wonder where the heck THAT came from...


Posted Apr. 05, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Galatea

Join Date: 10/21/22

Posts: 24

RE: What do the characters in the novel ...

Memories can be faulty or affected by one’s feelings. I didn’t think Sadie’s memories of Sam’s actions were not totally accurate. She came to believe that he was taking credit and that colored all her memories of Sam and their work together.


Posted Apr. 05, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
sweeney

Join Date: 05/24/11

Posts: 185

RE: What do the characters in the novel ...

I absolutely love this quote about memory. It is totally fascinating what we choose to remember, and when it is pulled to the forefront. It is hard to remember that our memories, even when the experience was shared, can be so different from whomever it was shared with.


Posted Apr. 05, 2023 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
candacef

Join Date: 12/02/15

Posts: 48

RE: What do the characters in the novel ...

I have a group of High School girlfriends who meet every year for a mini High School reunion. We graduated together over 50 years ago. We do a lot of reliving our High School memories and it is really interesting how everyone remembers each experiences sometimes very differently even though they are experiences we had together. It is so amazing how differently some of "saw" these experiences. Many times some do not remember the experiences at all. I think memory is random but retelling events is reliving them.


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