The Big Picture

As with many blog posts I have done, I will start by defining the key word, in this case "memento". Dictionary.com defines memento to mean "an object or item that serves to remind one of a person, past event". Sometimes it is spelled with an "o" as "momento", to indicate the significance of a particular moment. Leonard needs these mementos to keep track of his life, because he has lost the ability to form new memories. Each picture, or tattoo, represents a clue regarding his wife’s murderer. However, as we have seen in numerous books we have read, the mind is a funny thing; it tends to believe what it wants to believe. For example, when “Jonah” in Cats Cradle was interviewing Newt about the day the atomic bomb was dropped, Newt replied with a clear story. At first explains how he was very young so he does not remember everything, but he is still able to list facts from the day. He describes how Angela has told him about what happened that day so many times that he has taken every thing she has said to be true. In reality, because they are two different people, they had completely different perspectives.

This is similar to the anecdote someone in the class shared about a sibling hearing a story (in which they were not involved) so many times that they can tell it themselves as if they were there. Mementos can be used to remember events. When I traveled to Paris this summer, the only thing I bought home was a little replica of the Eiffel Tower. This dwarfs my entire time in Paris. When I look at this item, I think only about my time at the tower, not my time at Notre Dame, the lourve, or the “love-lock” bridge. Mementos are good to keep, but often they can lead to a focused view of an experience. That is why numerous mementos, in this case Leonards body tattoos, can help to create a bigger picture.

This is similar to the anecdote someone in the class shared about a sibling hearing a story (in which they were not involved) so many times that they can tell it themselves as if they were there. Mementos can be used to remember events. When I traveled to Paris this summer, the only thing I bought home was a little replica of the Eiffel Tower. This dwarfs my entire time in Paris. When I look at this item, I think only about my time at the tower, not my time at Notre Dame, the lourve, or the “love-lock” bridge. Mementos are good to keep, but often they can lead to a focused view of an experience. That is why numerous mementos, in this case Leonards body tattoos, can help to create a bigger picture.