Memento Mori
Suzette Green
“Memento Mori” Response
The short story “Memento Mori” written by Jonathan Nolan is the backdrop for the movie “Memento” by his brother Chirstopher Nolan. The short story is a little confusing because it seems like that it is written backwards. I’ve never seen the movie and this is my first time reading the short story that the movie is based on.
The beginning of the story is written in a first person narrative, addressing the reader as “you” as this narrative continues though, it assumes that “you” isn’t the reader, but another person in the story, The story begins with a first person narrator who is addressing a "you." I didn’t know who the “you” was in the first section of this story but its obvious that this person is …show more content…
Then in a different room where he wakes up to a note saying “Get up, these people are trying to kill you”. Then in a tattoo parlor where he is getting “I raped and killed your wife” tattooed on him. The story then places him in a motel room, it is then that we realize that he hasn’t been speaking but writing notes to himself as the story progresses. It also seems like that the order of the story is backwards. The last setting in the story is earl leaving what appears to be the scene of a crime, as the reader you realize that Earl has killed the man that killed his wife, but he doesn’t remember because he didn’t have enough time to find a pen to write down the memory.
I believe that the main essential theme in this movie is time, time is of the essence and the fact that Earl’s life is a constant 10-15 minute interval reiterates that time is precious. Throughout the movie Earl creates a series of mementos as a way of remembering everything before that time disappears forever. He uses the tattoos as a way to remember the most important moments of his experience of time after the loss of his short-term memory. By means of his mementos of these brief and transitory periods, he is able to remember enough to excel in his plan to find the man that killed his wife and kill
“Memento Mori” Response
The short story “Memento Mori” written by Jonathan Nolan is the backdrop for the movie “Memento” by his brother Chirstopher Nolan. The short story is a little confusing because it seems like that it is written backwards. I’ve never seen the movie and this is my first time reading the short story that the movie is based on.
The beginning of the story is written in a first person narrative, addressing the reader as “you” as this narrative continues though, it assumes that “you” isn’t the reader, but another person in the story, The story begins with a first person narrator who is addressing a "you." I didn’t know who the “you” was in the first section of this story but its obvious that this person is …show more content…
Then in a different room where he wakes up to a note saying “Get up, these people are trying to kill you”. Then in a tattoo parlor where he is getting “I raped and killed your wife” tattooed on him. The story then places him in a motel room, it is then that we realize that he hasn’t been speaking but writing notes to himself as the story progresses. It also seems like that the order of the story is backwards. The last setting in the story is earl leaving what appears to be the scene of a crime, as the reader you realize that Earl has killed the man that killed his wife, but he doesn’t remember because he didn’t have enough time to find a pen to write down the memory.
I believe that the main essential theme in this movie is time, time is of the essence and the fact that Earl’s life is a constant 10-15 minute interval reiterates that time is precious. Throughout the movie Earl creates a series of mementos as a way of remembering everything before that time disappears forever. He uses the tattoos as a way to remember the most important moments of his experience of time after the loss of his short-term memory. By means of his mementos of these brief and transitory periods, he is able to remember enough to excel in his plan to find the man that killed his wife and kill