Beloved

Beloved tells the story of exactly what becomes of a person who lives directly through their memories. It is the story of "past errors taking possession of the present" (Morrison 302). The past, present, and future are big focuses within the novel, but it definitely outlines the idea that though one can move forward, they will always carry the weight of the past. The people they become may or may not be better people. Morrison outlines both the beneficial effects of knowing how and why things occurred in the past through Denver's character. She is able to start her own life, take care of her mother, and become an independent person because she knows that she can have better than she once did. The negative side of living too much through the past is revealed through Sethe's character. She dwells upon the murder she committed and her past experiences as a slave and can never be free. Because of this portrayal of both the positive and negative sides of living through the past, it creates a few even bigger question: though memories shape the people we become, are some people better apt to move on from bad experiences, or are there experiences that it is impossible to move away from or become changed for the better? Or do we lose aspirations to become better people if we have lived through immense troubles? Is there ever a point where we just give up and don't let ourselves transform into better or different people?

The Stranger

On the outside other's cannot see where we have been. In that way we are all strangers to one another because if we don't know another's past we don't necessarily see the true person. We are products of our past, but Mersault is a complete stranger because he does not live from ambition to ambition as most people do. He lives by the philosophy that to live life to the fullest is simply to eat breathe and die. Seeing the world, in his eyes is living, so we never hear many of his memories we just must assume where he has been. When he does speak of the past he speaks of things his mother used to say, or Marie's dress, or the look of the sky. He does speak about Maman's death, which may be considered a big event in any other person's life, but he does not seem as if it changed him in any major way. Somehow his memories turned him into a person who enjoys the simple pleasures in life, and looking back on his life he wouldn't have changed anything, which is something I think we should all yearn to live for.

"The Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka's short story relates to my question in a different way. Gregor completely transforms, whether mentally or physically, into an entirely different persona, but this persona is the result of who he once was. He was overworked and hated his job, he provided for a family who gave nothing in return, and he had seemingly lost touch with most relations. All of these occurrences have already taken place before we are introduced to Gregor, but their results are quite prevalent. Gregor's "metamorphosis" transforms him into an almost selfish creature. His only concern is that his family will stop caring about him, and they do. In the end Gregor dies all alone.

In a way this story takes a negative spin on my question, if we live a life that we don't love and drastically change to overcome the troubles, we may overcorrect. Gregor started out a lonely man and ended all alone, it reveals the necessity for balance in life. Though adversity will arise, we must learn to live day to day in the way we desire otherwise some day it will be too late. In this way our memories will hopefully shape us in a better way, only when we want to overcome past troubles.