How Has Your Set Text Challenged Your Understanding Of “History And Memory”?

How Has Your Set Text Challenged Your Understanding Of “History And Memory”?

Question: how has your set text challenged your understanding of “History and Memory”?

History has been created over the ages and recorded by certain figures in the world. Although it is believed that history predominantly is indisputable, due to the documents that have been discovered of certain events regarding dating and where it occurred. However the real case is that those documents are only one person’s perspective on the event and other individuals who witnessed the same event would have different perceptions of it. History and memory are both subjective and fallible as they each have limitations in representing the truth about particular events. Thus history can be seen as someone’s perceptions of an event i.e. an individual’s memory.

History is interlinked with memories of people in the past as the evidence of a certain event is a specific person’s view on the event. The text “Fiftieth Gate” by Mark Baker is the recollection of his parent’s memories of the Holocaust and how he continually uses historical documents to justify his parent’s experiences. Essentially it explores the impact of personal experience on memory and ultimately history.

Different experiences of people within the same historical event produce different perspectives but it is memory that relates them together. As the Fiftieth Gate presents a view of the world being characterised by shifting perceptions, contrasting moments of suffering but it is always memories that link people together to make history a more cohesive story of the human experience. It makes use of personal memories of his parents while linking with other involved people’s memories. The included visual representation makes use of varying forms of personal memory in order to link history and its changing perceptions of past events. The letter from Walter’s wife conveys the feelings of anger as to why their highly political Jewish friends are being transported forcefully to the nearby...