Entering The Mind
One of the many common threads of the dystopian materials we’ve looked at is that they involve an invaion of the mind. Societies cross over from utopia to dystopia when the government attemps to control the thought and ideas of its people. This may be obvious to everyone, but this particular aspect of dystopian text intrests me. In The Prisoner the rulers of the island invade Number 6’s mind. They also erase the memories of the citizens so they don’t remember their past and the government information that they were privied to. “We Can Remember for You Wholesale” dealt with memories and true identity. These texts address the idea that your memories are your identity. The prisoners of the island have lost their true identites because they can’t remember their past. This is very similar to what happened the the protagonist of Phillip K. Dicks story. The connection between memory and identity is made once again. These dystopian text all predict a future where not even the mind is safe. Is this fear common in dystopian literature? What do you make of the connection between memory, identity and dystopia?
pink martini wrote:
I agree that dystopian texts portray societies in which even the mind is “conqured” by advanced technology and private thought is as vulnerable to observation and control as any other aspect of human life. These characteristics mark both a high level of progress and a fear that as a utopia turns into a dystopia nothing is left intimate and safe.
The connection between memory and identity is very interesting. In the isolated island in The Prisoner, where people’s memories have been erased for government security reasons, each citizen is given a number. People there have no name, no history, no past relations and cannot, therefore, be identified in any other way. “I am not a number, I am a person” is repeated over and over again by #6 who refuses to become part of this society.
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 2:15 pm ¶
Holler wrote:
Interestingly, I just wrote a paper explicitly dealing with the necessity of memory to establish identity. More specifically, I argued that identity is defined solely by memory continuity. (I could elaborate, but the discussion would necessitate a greater depth and philosophical framework.) In relation to dystopic worlds, specifically the island in The Prisoner, if the inhabitants have lost their prior memories, they have lost their identities. However, I am not sure that we assume this. Number Six seems to recall all of his previous memories, but not the events preceding his kidnapping. In this sense, he retains his identity. If Six were to capitulate his secrets and consequently be wiped of his memory, we would then say his identity has been erased, but until then, identity remains intact.
I would argue that Philip K. Dick’s protagonist also retains his identity. There seem to be (large) gaps in his real memory, but in general, it remains continuous. Perhaps it may be argued that the characteristics of his identity have been sufficiently altered and replaced with ersatz memories that his identity has been completely changed. But, again, it seems that for the most part he retains his identity and memory. True identity in such a world as Dick envisions, seems relative anyways. If one can pay to have memories implanted, then identity seems less dependent on reality and more on imagination. In any case, Dick’s protagonist retains an identity due to the continuity of memory. Whether it is his true memory of not may be subjective.
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 4:25 pm ¶
Aron Berke wrote:
Brave New World is yet another example that can support this idea of even the mind being unsafe in a dystopian society. One distinction worth noting is that instead of attacking one’s memory to erase his or her identity, the citizens of the world state are subjected to conditioning which inhibits their ability to form any concept of individuality or identity (they have very limited notions of identity; they may identify as Epsilon, Delta, etc.). The mind is unsafe not because it can be invaded, but because influenced before birth. I would argue that the connection between memory, identity, and dystopian societies is as follows: It is in the best interest of most dystopian “rulers†to limit individuality, and “conquering†the mind (as Pink Martini put it) is an effective way of doing so. However, there are many different ways of conquering the mind or controlling one’s memory.
Posted 07 Nov 2007 at 12:07 am ¶
Jamie Goldberg wrote:
I would like to question what is true identity in the first place? The people in Brave New World have been conditioned to be one way, which is very different than they would have been if they had not been essentially brainwashed from first. However, this is the only identity they have ever known and therefore it is questionable whether or not it is their true identity. Is it possible that there could be no such thing as true identity and instead just different identities that are altered based on the society that one is in. I feel that even in a regular non-dystopian society people’s identities are altered by their surrounding. So, even if someone’s memory is altered it may be possible for them to find a new identity with their new memory. It seems that as long as someone is alive they must have an identity of some kind, which makes me question if true identity exists.
Posted 08 Nov 2007 at 7:36 pm ¶