“I cannot imagine how I will cope when I discover that my life is behind me, has already happened, and I have nothing to show for it. No treasure house of collection, no wealth of experience, no accumulated wisdom to pass on. What are we, if not an accumulation of our memories?”
This quote demonstrates the most significant theme throughout Before I Go To Sleep: that one’s identity is based upon their memories. Christine is radically changed based upon how much of her past she knows-- she embodies her motherly identity she remembers she was pregnant at some point, then becomes fiery and fierce when she finds out that her son has died. She remains calm and passive when told that a car accident took away her memory, and then embodies a powerful yet damaged persona when she realizes it was not, in fact, a car accident. Her personality changes at each new piece of information, at each revealing of the truth, and her sense of who she is--a mother, a woman, a writer-- changes as well.
The true tragedy Christine sees is that she cannot reap the benefits of the years she’s lived in her damaged state. She has lost those years forever, as to her mind, they didn’t happen if she can’t remember or learn from them. Those with normal memories can forget days but still gain experience and knowledge from them, but Christine will continue losing her days unless something radically changes. This is a depressing thought to her-- she cannot see any personal accomplishments that she values--and she cannot face, or "cope" with this existence that is barely an existence for the lack of memories and thus the lack of her identity.
I agree with the theme-- I believe that memories are our record of what we have done, said, tried, heard, learned, and much more. They inform what we like, what people think of us, where we are, and where we have been, which are all encompassed in our character and identity. Our memories keep us sane as they ground us in who we are. However, wrapped up in memories is what we believe is the truth, which can be dangerous, for memories can be manipulated and warped, as this book shows.
This quote demonstrates the most significant theme throughout Before I Go To Sleep: that one’s identity is based upon their memories. Christine is radically changed based upon how much of her past she knows-- she embodies her motherly identity she remembers she was pregnant at some point, then becomes fiery and fierce when she finds out that her son has died. She remains calm and passive when told that a car accident took away her memory, and then embodies a powerful yet damaged persona when she realizes it was not, in fact, a car accident. Her personality changes at each new piece of information, at each revealing of the truth, and her sense of who she is--a mother, a woman, a writer-- changes as well.
The true tragedy Christine sees is that she cannot reap the benefits of the years she’s lived in her damaged state. She has lost those years forever, as to her mind, they didn’t happen if she can’t remember or learn from them. Those with normal memories can forget days but still gain experience and knowledge from them, but Christine will continue losing her days unless something radically changes. This is a depressing thought to her-- she cannot see any personal accomplishments that she values--and she cannot face, or "cope" with this existence that is barely an existence for the lack of memories and thus the lack of her identity.
I agree with the theme-- I believe that memories are our record of what we have done, said, tried, heard, learned, and much more. They inform what we like, what people think of us, where we are, and where we have been, which are all encompassed in our character and identity. Our memories keep us sane as they ground us in who we are. However, wrapped up in memories is what we believe is the truth, which can be dangerous, for memories can be manipulated and warped, as this book shows.
In my opinion, memories do make up a large part of one's identity, but there is a totally different way of looking at it. If one is able to forget the previous days, every day, for their entire life, and this loss of memory is not too much of a distraction, and isn't always in the forefront of his/her mind, perhaps that person's true identity will shine through. Without memories, outside influence cannot rub off on person, making their identity all their own. If someone wakes up every day, like it is their first day on Earth, and each day they have the same morals and overall personality traits, isn't that their true identity?
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