“Some people, I am told, have memories like computers, nothing to do but punch the button and wait for the print-out. Mine is more like a Japanese library of the old style, without a card file or an indexing system or any systematic shelf plan. Nobody knows where anything is except the old geezer in felt slippers who has been shuffling up and down those stacks for sixty-nine years. When you hand him a problem he doesn't come back with a cartful and dump it before you, a jackpot of instant retrieval. He finds one thing, which reminds him of another, which leads him off to the annex, which directs him to the east wing, which sends him back two tiers from where he started. Bit by bit he finds you what you want, but like his boss who seems to be under pressure to examine his life, he takes his time.”
In this quote by Wallace Stegner, the speaker compares their memory to a Japanese library of the old style, highlighting its complex and unconventional nature. The analogy suggests that unlike a computer-like memory, which provides quick and efficient retrieval of information, the speaker's memory is more chaotic and unpredictable. The comparison emphasizes the unpredictable and meandering nature of memory, where connections between different memories are made in a non-linear and organic manner. The reference to the old geezer in felt slippers further reinforces the idea of memory as a personalized and idiosyncratic system, shaped by individual experiences and associations. Overall, the quote challenges the notion of memory as a straightforward and efficient tool by presenting it as a complex and labyrinthine structure that requires time and patience to navigate.
In today's digital age of instant information retrieval and quick answers at our fingertips, Wallace Stegner's analogy of memory as a traditional Japanese library resonates with the complexity and depth of human memory. While technology allows for fast and efficient access to information, the meandering and unpredictable nature of memory still plays a vital role in our ability to recall and make connections.
The author Wallace Stegner used a vivid analogy to describe the complexity of his memory in his writing. He compared his memory to a Japanese library without a systematic organization, making it difficult for him to retrieve information quickly and efficiently.
The passage describes the narrator's memory as more akin to an old Japanese library, with a disorganized and unpredictable retrieval system. Reflect on your own memory and how you process information. Consider the following questions:
How accurate do you think the analogy of a Japanese library is to your own memory? Can you relate to the narrator's description, or is your memory more like a computer?
In what ways does your memory impact your problem-solving abilities? Do you find yourself taking a meandering path to reach a solution, like the old geezer in the passage, or do you have a more direct approach?
Think about a recent situation where you needed to recall information or solve a problem. Did your memory function more like a computer or a Japanese library in that scenario? How did this affect the outcome?
Consider how the passage portrays the process of retrieving information from memory as slow and meandering. Do you find this to be true in your own experience, or do you have a more efficient method of recall?
Reflect on the idea that memories can be triggered by associations and connections, leading to a nonlinear retrieval process. How does this concept resonate with your own memory patterns and experiences?
“Old Marsh wore a look of sorrow upon his face. “You called him, miss. You called him. You must send him back now. You must send him back. He won’t be the brother you remember. It ain’t his spirit comes back. I told you that. It’s the soul of death comes back, that’s what it is, miss. The soul of death in disguise like your brother. Only the one who called him can send him back. I saw the bird in the cellars, in the bowl, miss. I know what you done. I know what you called.”
“As the uneasiness and reluctance to face it cut him off more and more from all real happiness, and as habit renders the pleasures the vanity and excitement and flippancy at once less pleasant and harder to forgo...you will find that anything or nothing is sufficient to attract his wandering attention. You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday's paper will do. You can make him waste his time not only in conversation he enjoys with people whom he likes, but also in conversations with those he cares nothing about, on subjects that bore him. You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities which we want him to avoid can be inhibited and nothing given in return, so that at last he may say...'I now see that I spent most my life doing in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.”
“Now his children are getting old too, like him, and they have children and nobody wants the old man any more and they are waiting for him to die. But he don't want to die. He wants to keep on living even though he's so old and there's nothing to be happy about any more.”
“I want to be like him. He's never hung-up, he goes every direction, he lets it all out, he knows time, he has nothing to do but rock back and forth. Man, he's the end! You see, if you go like him all the time you'll finally get it.”
“As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allah with him, Who will pay him his due (Hell). And Allah is Swift in taking account.”