Memory's really at the heart of this one—shocker in a text called "Hope, Despair and Memory," we know.
This is ultimately a speech about how memory is the key to solving mankind's problems, simply by providing a list of things not to repeat. But memory also, more deeply, makes up who we are as people. We are the collection of memories we pick up along the way.
Questions About Memory and the Past
- Why is the loss of memory a "divine curse"?
- How does memory, even of traumatic events, bring hope?
- How should memory be able to protect against future trauma?
- How does Elie Wiesel think memory has failed?
Chew on This
Check out some potential thesis statements about Hope, Despair and Memory.
Misremembering the past is incredibly influential on how we shape policy as a nation today, because historical memory helps us shape what we flag as actual problems.
Many people misremember history because they find the actual record uncomfortable, or distasteful. By twisting the record, they can go on unchallenged by the world around them.