Memory and Oblivion

in "Every day" by David Levithan

Summary

Classification of memory
Definition and characteristics of
memory
The concept of memory from
various personalities

Oblivion
Memory and Oblivion
in "Every day" by David Levithan
 Involuntary memory
Sensory
memory
Emotional
Memory memory
Perceptive
memory
Voluntary memory Logic memory Episodic memory
Mechanical memory (events experiences)

Short-term memory
Semantic memory
Long-term memory (facts, concepts)

Explicit memory (conscious) Declarative

memory (facts,
events)
Implicit memory (unconscious)

Procedural memory
(skills, tasks)
Definition
a)thementalcapacityorfacultyofretainingandrevivingfacts,
events,impressions,etc.,orrecognizingpreviousexperiences
.

b)amentalimpressionretained;arecollection:one'searliestm
emories.
characteristics

The memory is:

active: It leads to the establishment and
reassembly of information into a new, superior to the
previous one. The memory tends to transform the past, not
simply reproduce it.
selective
relatively faithful: It is not an exact copy, fixing
and updating of information are made with a certain
approximation.
intelligible: It involves understanding the
stored.
 The concept of memory from various
personalities

Aristotle
When in the absence of things we have knowledge
and perception then it comes to memory.
For Aristotle, the memory is "ownership of the
image as an icon of the thing whose image is, the
image of the "act of remembrance.

Augustine
Great is this power of memory, excessively great,
contained in a vast and boundless chamber!
()Yet this is a power I have; it is part of my
nature. Not only that, I do not myself comprehend
all that I am. Therefore the mind is somehow too
confining to contain itself.
In Augustine's conception the memory can
make assumptions about the future based on past
information, the memory is outside of time, it not
depends on and is not transformed by time
(continuity and universality of memory). He
considers the memory complex and full of
 Oblivion

Oblivion =is the opposite phenomenon of memory. It has a

positive side helps us to get rid of insignificant and useless
information , which leaving room for the purchase of other
important information and a negative side that consists of
blocking or removing the information required to complete an
activity from the current stream of consciousness.
->its dynamics depends on the nature and character of the
material stored.
! It can be controlled, causing it to act selectively.
 "Every
day"
by D.
Levithan
In hisNew York
Timesbestselling novel,
David Levithan introduces
readers to
whatEntertainment
Weeklycalls a "wise, wildly
unique" love story about A.

David Levithan has pushed himself to new Overview: Every day a

creative heights. He has written a
captivating story that will fascinate readers
as they begin to comprehend the
complexities of life and love in As world, as
A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can
truly love someone who is destined to
change every day.
different body. Every day a
different life. Every day in
love with the same girl.
The story was authentic and
unique. The writing was not
hard to understand. The
story becomes more and
more interesting as you turn
1. Involuntary memory + episodic
memory

I am a drifter, and as lonely as that can be, it is also remarkably

freeing. I will never define myself in terms of anyone else. I will
never feel the pressure of peers or the burden of parental
expectation. I can view everyone as pieces of a whole, and focus
on the whole, not the pieces. I have learned how to observe, far
better than most people observe. I am not blinded by the past or
motivated by the future. I focus on the present, because that is
where I am destined to live

At least Ive had the comfort of never knowing anything else. I

would destroy myself if Id actually had to give something up
Every
before morning,
leading A wakes in
this travelers a different persons body, a
existence.
different persons life. Theres never any warning about
where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with
that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never
get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
Although he hasnt his own body, he is individualized by
the nature of his own being, by his thoughts and his
character. He is just another person trapped in a body.

He live in a continuous present, but in the same time

hes going forward in time, getting older, moving to
bodies which are only as old as he.

His history is based on episodic memory( different and

unique events and experiences). Day by day he adapts
to a new living environment, being very perceptive to
external stimulants. He access immediately his
involuntary memory in order to create a behavior
similar to the host . Also, he accesses the mind
(conscious and unconscious) memories of each body to
handle.

At least he was not subjected to the pain of a lost

memory , of a long time gone, he was born a traveler.
2. The two stages of oblivion : a) temporary loss of
memory;
b) the permanent loss of memory
He is a blank- a sleepwalker waking up. Only he has a
sense of me. Some lone memory of not being himself.

When he leaves his host, he chooses what vague memory

about the day to leave behind or remove completely the
memory from his or her mind that day.
3. The negative and the positive side of oblivion +
Voluntary memory

Normal people dont have to decide whats worth remembering.

You are given a hierarchy, recurring characters, the help of
repetition, of anticipation, the firm hold of a long history. But I
have to decide the importance of each and every memory. I only
remember a handful people, and in order to do that, I have to
hold tight, because the only repetition available- the only way I
am going to see them again- is if I conjure them in my mind.

Over time memories degrade, although we try to

control the oblivion, causing it to act selectively, the
image of the person we want to remember becomes
diffuse. In the end we remain with a memory flooded
with emotion. This remembering is connected in
obscure ways with dreaming. Some memories are
shaped by language, others by imagery.

A uses the voluntary memory and chooses to


I suddenly realize why
people believe in dj vu,
why people believe
theyve lived past lives,
because there is no way
the years Ive spend on
this earth could possibly
encapsulate what Im
feeling. The moment you
fall in love feels like it has
centuries behind it, Its all fine until the morning that A
generations- all of them wakes up in the body of Justin and
rearranging themselves meets Justins girlfriend, Rhiannon.
so that this precise, From that moment, the rules by which
remarkable intersection A has been living no longer apply.
could happen. Because finally A has found someone
he wants to be withday in, day out,
Irrationally, I also want day after day.
there to be some kind of
recognition. I want her to
be able to see behind this
 Sometimes memory tricks you. Sometimes beauty is best
when its distant. But even from here, thirty feet away, I know
that the reality of her is going to match my memory.(Every
day- David Levithan)

Project by
Preda Ioana Alexandra
Class 9 G