The Present is a Gift

 

    When used properly, memories can be an excellent life tool. Joyful memories can brighten darker days, while painful ones can serve as a starting place for growth. In Johnathan Nolan’s “Memento Mori”, however, the main character, Earl, has a memory that only lasts about ten minutes. He can’t remember to brush his teeth in the morning without the help of a pre-printed schedule or that his wife is dead without looking at a picture from her funeral. This lack of memory prevents him from thinking for himself and taking advantage of life in the ways that the narrator feels he should.

After reading this short story, I started to wonder, what happens when a character relies too heavily on their memory? The Great Gatsby’s Jay Gatsby and Death of a Salesman’s Willy Loman came to mind as examples of characters who act in this way. Jay Gatsby, after many years of separation, tries desperately to reconnect with his old girlfriend Daisy and resume their relationship. He eventually does meet with her, but he tragically loses her again by forcing her to fit into the mold of her past life and self even though she expresses that this is not possible for her. Similarly, Willy Loman is distressed by the fact that he is not living up to his view of success, so he retreats into past memories of both times when he felt more in control and times that he felt lead to his decline. He allows his delusions and memories to control him to the point that they push him to his tragic death.

Both Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman are not perfectly happy with their present lives. They see holes in their realities, which they try to fill with pieces of the past. Although this re-creation of the past serves as a crutch for them, this fix is only temporary, and eventually the holes open up again. This happens because both characters try to use the past in unnatural ways, and lies cannot last forever. In the end of both stories, both memory-oriented characters end up in a worse mental state than they started in. 

Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman show that although we should use memories in our lives, they should not be at the center, since after all, isn't the present a gift?

When Oil and Water Mix

 

     Absurdism and idealism seem as different as night and day; one sees life as being a collection of meaningless decisions and the other sees the world as bursting with opportunity. Yet somehow, Meursault’s absurdist philosophy (from Albert Camus’ The Stranger) and Willy Loman’s idealist tendencies (from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman) have similar effects on each character and implications on the stories’ progression. 

First of all, both characters’ ideologies often take them to a different state of mind and essentially transport them to a different version of the world. Meursault’s absurdism allows him to easily become overwhelmed by the physical aspects of his world, such as the sun and heat. These entities take up much of his attention and block out rational thought, even pushing him to kill a man. Similarly, Willy Loman’s idealism contorts reality and convinces him that false statements or situations are true. He can easily believe that he has sold hundreds more products than he actually did and that his son held a higher position in a business than he actually did. In his most desperate moments, Willy’s idealist yearnings can transport him into a fantasy of the past. When he is in this version of reality, he talks and shouts out loud to the people in his fantasies, even when he is in public places in the real world. The fact that these opposite yet strong ideologies push these characters out of their real world reveals the high level of conformity found in these societies. They have become so monotonous that any unique ways of thinking cannot manifest themselves in socially acceptable ways and instead dominate alternate realities. 

Because of their ideologies and the way they make them act, Meursault and Willy are seen as unwell by others in their societies. This prompts other characters to attempt to “help” them. The Chaplain in The Stranger tries to push Meursault to see more meaning in life by teaching him about Christianity, and Charley in Death of a Salesman attempts to convince Willy to settle for less than he dreams of and work for him instead of starting his own family business. However, both characters are far too invested in their world views to change, which only leads to them being further cast out by society. This situation shows the power that the society has to control the lives of those that are a part of it, regardless of whether or not these people follow its norms. 

I wonder what Meursault and Willy would think of each other!