Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood is a very interesting way of illustrating trauma. It had an unexpected and unnerving storyline. It was a semi-autobiographical work of post-modernist literature. One half of the story is fictional and follows a utopian olympic whilst the other is constructed of real childhood memories. The main character adapts the identity of Winkler to evade military service. The second part follows a mythical Olympics hosted on an island where the winners are idolized and the losers are tortured. At first it was hard to understand how the stories were connected.
I found that this novel had me trying to piece together the story until the third story instalment. The land of W was an escape from the harsh realities of the world during the Holocaust. The island of W was a mirrored reality of what the author was enduring. It was a different type of retelling of the Holocaust. The fact that the island was called W is symbolic of double lives and how the narrator lived in both places at once (reality and imagination). The island had strict rules and the fate of the people who lived there was uncertain. Those who won were rewarded and allowed to maintain their strength through the prizes, where the losers were malnourished and continually got weaker. This almost ensured that those who lost would continue to lose and be unable to change their fate. More important than skill, was luck.
One part that really stood out to me was that the athletes on W were not known by names unless they were very famous, even then it was rare. All novices were known as novice or given nicknames by some of their physical characteristics. When I compare that to now, I feel as though that is a common practice to only know the names of some elites. Many people can name countless celebrities as they are idolized and therefore, well-known. In the story, I think the use of nicknames was meant to disassociate the human from the athlete. Therefore, when they were tortured, it seemed more humane considering that people were not known by their names.
I found the use of Italics to be very interesting. Whenever something in the world of W was described, it was done so in Italics. It was a nice way to differentiate the stories without completely ruining the flow of the story.
My question to the class is: What specific aspects of this story do you think can apply to our society?
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with double lives
Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood is a very interesting way of illustrating trauma. It had an unexpected and unnerving storyline. It was a semi-autobiographical work of post-modernist literature. One half of the story is fictional and follows a utopian olympic whilst the other is constructed of real childhood memories. The main character adapts the identity of Winkler to evade military service. The second part follows a mythical Olympics hosted on an island where the winners are idolized and the losers are tortured. At first it was hard to understand how the stories were connected.
I found that this novel had me trying to piece together the story until the third story instalment. The land of W was an escape from the harsh realities of the world during the Holocaust. The island of W was a mirrored reality of what the author was enduring. It was a different type of retelling of the Holocaust. The fact that the island was called W is symbolic of double lives and how the narrator lived in both places at once (reality and imagination). The island had strict rules and the fate of the people who lived there was uncertain. Those who won were rewarded and allowed to maintain their strength through the prizes, where the losers were malnourished and continually got weaker. This almost ensured that those who lost would continue to lose and be unable to change their fate. More important than skill, was luck.
One part that really stood out to me was that the athletes on W were not known by names unless they were very famous, even then it was rare. All novices were known as novice or given nicknames by some of their physical characteristics. When I compare that to now, I feel as though that is a common practice to only know the names of some elites. Many people can name countless celebrities as they are idolized and therefore, well-known. In the story, I think the use of nicknames was meant to disassociate the human from the athlete. Therefore, when they were tortured, it seemed more humane considering that people were not known by their names.
I found the use of Italics to be very interesting. Whenever something in the world of W was described, it was done so in Italics. It was a nice way to differentiate the stories without completely ruining the flow of the story.
My question to the class is: What specific aspects of this story do you think can apply to our society?
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with double lives
