Tuesday, October 2, 2007
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
Philip Dick's "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" really did not interest me at all. I really do not find science fiction stories at all appealing and I honestly may have let that influence my reading of the story, as horrible as that sounds. There was this one line in the story though that I read over a few times and keep thinking about. On page 365 it says, "The advantages of it being a memory-and nothing more-could now be appreciated" (Dick 365). At this point in the story Quail is going back and forth trying to figure out whether or not he actually did visit Mars or it was just put into his memory by the scientists. This back and forth that Quail was doing in his mind was starting to drive him crazy. Everyone seems to be telling him something different and he is not quite sure where he will find the truth. For me this line is dealing with his desire to find out the truth. Sometimes when you really wish something would happen you think about it so much it almost becomes a memory. This imagined scenario is now stuck in your head as if it really happened. I think what Dick is saying here is that sometimes its good to be able to fathom up anything you want in your mind because our minds give us the power to do so. It is also good that sometimes what you fathom in your imagination is just an imagined event. Its easy to imagine good things to happen, but its just as easy to imagine bad things as well. Being able to distinguish the good and bad ideas from reality and your imagination is what's key to keeping from going insane. Because Quail does not see the difference at this point he wishes he could make that distinction.
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1 comment:
That's okay. You don't have to enjoy every story! I only want to give a survey of styles and genres and allow you to find your passions.
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