Memory and "The Cookie"

Proust's "The Cookie" explores the idea of memory anthropomorphically, as the author makes memory become a tangible object. The author states "And suddenly the memory revealed itself", which suggests that the author views memory as a separate, individual entity. Often, individuals feel that their memories remain intact over time, when in reality our memories are subjective and vulnerable to manipulation by our senses each time we relive the memory. The author explains that "the sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to [his] mind...because [he] had so often seen such things"; essentially, the author is saying that overexposure of the sense of sight has led to a desensitization of his ability to trigger memory from sight stimulation. However, the taste stimulation, which is much more specific and not exposed as frequently as sight, triggers the memory for the author. There is also the idea that we are exposed to so many different sights through out the day that our ability to create memory based on sight is skewed.

On a personal note, my memory of what I originally wrote for my post was altered by our class discussion yesterday. Although my original post was very similar to what I have written above, our discussion yesterday has definitely skewed my memory of my original entry.

Week #3: Attention

In Maria Edgeworth's "Practical Education" chapter on attention explains that "repetition makes all operations easy". I feel this statement is especially applicable to literature in relation to attention. Statements that are repeated frequently in literature are generally those statements which require more attention and which also draw more attention from the reader. Repetition in any field reinforces the action or statement in an individual's mind; here, we can bridge the gap often presented between science and art. The study behind attention, and its history as discussed in "Historical Overview of Research on Attention", can now be applied to literature through the idea of repetition presented in "Practical Education". These two separate articles come together to give a better idea of why we pay attention to certain things in novels or poems. Repetition demands the reader's attention in literature, which in turn allows the reader to make some determination about a poem's meaning or a novel's theme. Thus, the repetition provides clarity about literary meanings, or helps make the reader's job of interpreting the poem or novel easier.

Squaring the circle

Margaret Cavendish's poem "The Circle of the Brain cannot be Squared" presents an impossible mathematical problem: a square cannot be created with the same area as a given circle. My interpretation of this poem is that the circle discussed was representing the brain. The first line, "A circle round divided in four parts" is representative of the brain's four areas- frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal. She discusses thoughts, doubts, and hopes but "none hath yet by demonstration found/the way, by which to square a circle round". These lines suggest that all of these ideas that our brain creates (thoughts, doubts and hopes) have limitations, and are limited by subjects such as mathematics and science. She also draws upon the idea that scientists must learn to work together in order to create progress, as she states "while thoughts divide, no figures will agree". The poem draws to a conclusion with the statement that "for such is Man's curiosity and mind, to seek for that, which is hardest to find". The author is suggesting that although man hopes to find the answers to what the brain's functions are in their entirety, the journey to determine this will be difficult. Overall, the poem seems to be ahead of its time in the way the author approaches the ideas of the brain and science.