The Imaginative Mind
Ashlyn Godec
Dr. Myers
English 101
September 14, 2012
The Inventive Mind
While all memoirs are originally based off of past memories, I am agreeing with Patricia Hampl on the belief that imagination always manages to converge with the initial memories. In Hampl’s essay, “Memory and Imagination”, the topic being discussed is based off of memoirs and whether the recollections included are factual or not. Also, if not, then why are memories invented in the first place? At some point in a memoir, memories begin to fade, and emotions allow imagination to interfere. The memory is indeed there from the start, but it does not make the memoir accurate. Added in details change the overall accuracy of the memoir, therefore, I am agreeing fully with Hampl’s claims of memoirs not being as true as presented. She displays good points in her argument by giving an example from her past, definitions that provide understanding for what a memoir is, and valid explanations concerning the topic of memory. Hampl starts off the essay by talking about one of her childhood recollections involving a piano lesson at the age of seven, but in the end, the short memoir turns into an imaginative piece of writing. As she transcribes, details are mistakenly added in. The memory actually comes from her own creation instead of facts as they are supposed to. Furthermore, out of all memories she could have chosen, her piano lesson is the one she is the most acquainted with. Why, you ask? It is assumed that humans only store parts of memory that are of emotional value. (Hampl 1009). With that said, complete memories included in memoirs are not always the truth.
Based on Hampl’s memoir, it is proven that no matter how true a memoir is supposed to be, it is more than likely written with biased accounts of that memory. The way a person remembers a situation from the past is always different from how somebody else remembers it, therefore, creating several different versions of the same memory.
Dr. Myers
English 101
September 14, 2012
The Inventive Mind
While all memoirs are originally based off of past memories, I am agreeing with Patricia Hampl on the belief that imagination always manages to converge with the initial memories. In Hampl’s essay, “Memory and Imagination”, the topic being discussed is based off of memoirs and whether the recollections included are factual or not. Also, if not, then why are memories invented in the first place? At some point in a memoir, memories begin to fade, and emotions allow imagination to interfere. The memory is indeed there from the start, but it does not make the memoir accurate. Added in details change the overall accuracy of the memoir, therefore, I am agreeing fully with Hampl’s claims of memoirs not being as true as presented. She displays good points in her argument by giving an example from her past, definitions that provide understanding for what a memoir is, and valid explanations concerning the topic of memory. Hampl starts off the essay by talking about one of her childhood recollections involving a piano lesson at the age of seven, but in the end, the short memoir turns into an imaginative piece of writing. As she transcribes, details are mistakenly added in. The memory actually comes from her own creation instead of facts as they are supposed to. Furthermore, out of all memories she could have chosen, her piano lesson is the one she is the most acquainted with. Why, you ask? It is assumed that humans only store parts of memory that are of emotional value. (Hampl 1009). With that said, complete memories included in memoirs are not always the truth.
Based on Hampl’s memoir, it is proven that no matter how true a memoir is supposed to be, it is more than likely written with biased accounts of that memory. The way a person remembers a situation from the past is always different from how somebody else remembers it, therefore, creating several different versions of the same memory.
Cited: Hampl, Patricia. “Memory and Imagination.” The Dolphin Reader. Ed. Douglas Hunt. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. 1003-1114. Print. Shook, Lauren. “Reading for the Rhetorical Appeals.” Rhetorical Approaches to College Writing. Eds. Lavina Ensor, Sally Smits, and Courtney A. Wooten. Plymouth: Hayden- McNeil. 2013. 21-29. Print.