Memory

Memory is an interesting thing and the conversation that we had on Tuesday intrigued me. We were actually talking about about events that would be happen to a person and how one person could remember something completely different than another. On Thursday though the question was posed why had she returned home. I put this question posed on Thursday together with what we were talking about on Tuesday dealing with memory. We are all going to remember things differently, especially places that we have lived and things we've experienced at this places. The cliche' that the "grass is always greener" I think applies to both this story and many other things within the world. The main character acts like a rebel in her home country as though she only wishes to get out because the world is so much better on "the other side", then when she is out she only wishes to go back. I think that she remembers things slightly different than when she was actually living in the midst of it, and that is because she felt comfortable there. The idea of comfort and memory goes hand in hand, the memories that one is going to keep, especially when you leave and dislike a place or the people, you're going to look back fondly on comforting memories that may have not really been there. 

Traits

The concept of nature vs. nurture is one that has been argued for decades. After class ended I started to think more about this concept because recently I have been thinking a lot of about identity in general and how involved the family truly is. 

All of the children (for the most part) have the same basic name, they also carry many of the same traits. Some of this of course is how they are raised and how they are treated, but I also believe that a great deal of it has to do with their genes. Family members share a bond, even though it may be very slight at time. How can is simply be the way that you are raised that makes you who you are. For example, genetics can affect a great deal one in particular is the brain. There are many disorders that can be passed on genetically that affect a persons mood and/or behavior. When this happens it has nothing at all to do with how a person is raised. I'm not saying that the characters within this story are insane or anything like that, simply stating that there is no way that characters are all so similar simply by the rule of "nurture", it logically doesn't work to be so similar. 

The name, although can be very powerful, I think is still working with the nurture part of that argument. I don't believe that it is simply one of the arguments at work within the story or within life instead it is both. A child can already be born with the characteristics in place, but they are brought about the environment that he lives in. Sometimes these traits will come out regardless of who is around if they are genetically in place and the person has no control over them. This is the sick, weird and twisted bond that families can hold over us.