Anika Week 15: The Destruction of Memory for the Rise of the Plot
Of all the things that are absolutely decimated in the Harry Potter series— banks, campgrounds, and reputations among them— the randomest of all are memories. From Hermione literally wiping her parents’ memories to Remus Lupin’s memories of Sirius Black being tarnished by the belief that he betrayed their friends, memories not only shape the realities of the characters in the Harry Potter series, but they are also wielded by the plot in a way that can be advantageous—or disadvantageous depending on the circumstances—to the characters.
Memories influence daily life in such a dramatic manner, as evidenced by the importance of first impressions, but in reality, we are not able to withhold memories in order to make something occur. However, in the Harry Potter series in particular, memories are used as a key manner to advance the plot.
Hermione, when attempting to protect her parents from Voldemort at the beginning of the Deathly Hallows, took away all of her parents’ memories, particularly the fact that they had a daughter, and sent them far away from harm. This allowed Hermione to embark on this dangerous quest knowing that being discovered by Voldemort would not lead to him using her parents as collateral.
Memories are also played with in a more abstract and emotional manner in this series though, as Remus had to make himself forget about his friendship with Sirius and only saw him as the person who led to the deaths of two of his dear friends. The events that occurred caused Remus to be unable to look back upon his childhood fondly, and entirely forget that Sirius Black, the person in Azkaban, was the same person who was a co-creator of the Marauders Map and a key part of his time at Hogwarts.
Furthermore, during the reign of Voldemort’s Death Eaters, the imperius curse was popularly used to put people under the control of the caster, putting the person under the curse into a trancelike state where they could be instructed to do whatever the caster wanted. This was weaponized heavily, both in flashbacks of Voldemort’s previous takeover, and during the one which occurred in the final book of the saga, most directly creating an image of how a lack of memory could be used to drive the plot.
Hello Anika! I first clicked on your blog after seeing the poster of the seventh Harry Potter movie, immediately curious about how you could have connected this story about wizards and magic to the value of memories. I find your reflection on how memories are used to manipulate people or change people’s opinions is truly fascinating, and I think that while the Harry Potter series is not based on the value of memories or the past, it still plays a large role in the story. I think how we perceive people in a given moment does truly change their lasting legacy and impression of them in our minds. One example that I connect your analysis of Remus is to choosing who the greatest basketball player of all time is. While people always recall Micheal Jordan for being a game changer during the past, his era was during a time where there were lesser talented players to compete against him, similar to how Sirius is viewed as the cause of death. However, it is clear that LeBron James is the greatest player, but just has to play in a different time where it is more challenging, allowing his merits to go unseen. I really enjoyed reading your blog and I found it really thought-provoking!
ReplyDeleteHello, Anika! It was really interesting to see the often largely underappreciated role that memory plays throughout the Harry Potter series. It does not just serve as a plot device at the end of the day, but becomes a tool to show just how much our memories can affect our lives, from how we handle our interpersonal relationships to changing how we eventually end up viewing the world. Your mention of how Hermione erased her parents’ memories was really reminiscent to me of how Sophie Foster did the same exact thing with her parents in Keeper of the Lost Cities. In both cases, it shows what painful and traumatic memories can hold, even changing the course of one’s life. Coincidentally, the concept of memory and its erasure as a popular plot device is something I touched upon in my blog post, too, however, your perspective and take on the subject were very interesting and truly eye-opening!
ReplyDeleteHi Anika. Honestly, the subject of your blog is absolutely terrifying to me. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous blog but an attack to memory just seems like the scariest thing ever to me. I particularly enjoyed reading about the numerous examples you pointed out when memory attacks are utilized in the Harry Potter universe. And yet, it is comforting that memory altering has so many positive uses too, like Hermione protecting her parents or concealing the Wizarding World from Muggles in the story. Although the magical memory altering powers don't exist in real life, I am still terrified of the actually existing Alzheimer disease affecting loved ones and even me in later years.
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