Awesome story, right? Now, do two things with it.
1) Pick out a quote that you feel is most important, most compelling, or one that you just say-- "yes, I like that quote." Then, explain why you chose it and what it means to you in the context of the story.
2) This story is an extended metaphor. Figure it out: What is it representing? State it and attempt to prove it in a concise argument.
1) One quote from the story that I found compelling is when Ben says to Annie, "We're all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there's too much thought and not enough heart." I found this very interesting and sort of ironic. Ben obviously gave that idea a considerable amount of thought, yet he criticizes humanity for thinking too much. To me, this quote sets up the rest of the story and helps to explain the deeper meaning of the story because Ben's beliefs are revealed directly.
ReplyDelete2) This story can have numerous different meanings and interpretations because of how absurd it is written and how open-ended it is. However, to me, this story is both represents a deconstructing relationship and also Ben's desire to be "less." Ben, convinced that people's "brains are just getting bigger and bigger," and people "think far too much," wants to simplify life and not think so much. He states that he "hated talking and just wanted to look into [Annie's] eyes and tell [her] things that way." This alludes to his idea of simplifying life and not thinking so much. So, when he turns into an ape,a sea turtle, and then finally a salamander, this represents his simplifying of life as the animals he turns into simplify as well. No interactions take place when he is an animal; he is just there. His reverse evolution represents his desire to not think so much, and just exist. This can also represent the deconstruction of Annie and Ben's relationship. When Ben was human, "he was always sad about the world," and Annie and him would "sit together and be sad and think about being sad and sometimes discuss sadness." This relationship obviously not healthy, deconstructs as Ben turns into different animals. Annie realizes what she is missing (the conversational, human Ben) and proceeds to take care of him, knowing the outcome of his reverse evolution. At Ben's salamander stage, Annie finally realizes that she had reached "the limit of [her] limits." She knew that he was slowly deconstructing, and so was their relationship. Ben's transformation from smaller animal to smaller animal represents the deconstruction of their relationship. I think, because I'm still not entirely sure. It's just a guess. :)
1. "Last day I Saw him human, he was sad about the world."
ReplyDeleteI picked this quote because it was describing Ben's character besides his physical features, to show that he was sad as a human. Although it doesn't say how he particularly feels now, I think the quote and the excerpt with it implies that even though Ben isn't human anymore, he is happy with who he is. Annie often says "his last human day" and his last this and that, but to Ben everyday is just the same whether he is human or not to him, which I had to think about in order to understand some of the story.
2. Okay so I kind of unintentionally cheated and looked some of the story up in order to understand what Annie was talking about better before seeing this blog question. I (the internet) connected the story to an Alzheimer's patient in his final stages of the disease, and going through the story again I could connect many things to this statement. The fact that one day it just "happens" to Ben shows how unpredictable Alzheimer's can be, and that not even doctors know how to treat it because after Annie paid the "doctor" (biologist) he couldn't even provide an accurate timeline. She remembers everything that Ben used to be but Ben doesn't, although he is unaffected by it because to him he is just living a normal life. When she realized that he had Alzheimer's, she "didn't think of calling 911" because why would that even be an option in that situation, but rather stayed there to comfort him. It entered its final stages and became serious once Ben turned into a salamander in the story, and Annie took him out to sea, or rather realized that he was no longer with her. However, she "paces around the block", "keeps phone numbers listed", etc., or keeps trying to jog his memory in the rare case that he does happen to remember something, she'll be there.
No one look at this and be a cheater like me pls.
1) The quote I picked is “This is the limit of my limits: here it is. You don’t ever know for sure where it is and then you bump against it and bam, you’re there.” I choose this quote because it shows that people can’t always keep going, we have limits and restrictions. In the story it shows how Annie had hit her limit. She thought that she would be able to stay with Ben until the end but this was her limit. She could not continue to take care of him so she let him free.
ReplyDelete2) I think this is a metaphor for a desire to return to simpler times. Ben says “our brains are just getting too bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and ides when there’s too much thought and not enough heart.” As time advance so do humans. We have created cellphones, cars, and changed the way society acts. Today if someone is without a cellphone then that is strange. We expect people to have phones and to have a car. In “simpler times” there was rarely a phone, car, or television. People used to interact with one another instead of interacting with technology. As the world gets bigger and our knowledge grows, hearts become hard due to fewer interactions. As Ben evolves downward, Annie still cares for Ben even though he has become a representation of simpler times. Even though he has become simpler she will not give up on him. However, this story also shows society’s inability to embrace simplicity. As Ben becomes simpler and simpler, Annie reaches her limit. She is unable to care for him anymore and lets him go. She was able to accept it at first but when he became the salamander, the simplest creature yet, she could not take it anymore and let go. She had to return to the complicated world.
1.) I really liked the ending quote, "I place my hands around my skull to see if it's growing, and wonder what, of any use, would fill it if it did." because after her husband is gone, she wonders maybe she is thinking too much and possibly she does not want to end up like her husband. She wonders if her head got bigger, why it would get that way and what she would be thinking about to make it bigger. She doesn't want to "dry up" like society will.
ReplyDelete2.) This story is an extended metaphor of some kind of illness that Ben has. His mental and physical states are slowly declining over time. The smaller the animal he becomes, the worse state he is in. They both seems upset and depressed in the beginning, and Annie tries remembering the things about her husband so she won't get this illness too, because she simply doesn't want to forget.
1. "He was always sad about the world. It was large reason why I loved him. We'd sit together and be sad and think about being sad and sometimes discuss sadness". This exposes one of the strange foundations of their relationship; this couple was mutually sad. It is not very typical to love someone because they are sad. This quotes also makes the reader inquire to what is making these people so sad
ReplyDelete2. The story seems to be a metaphor for ben's deterioration due to depression or something of the sort. He is unhappy with the state of the world, constantly worrying about all things wrong with it. He has a pessimistic view which takes it's toll on him. The reverse physical evolution symbolizes how his state of mind is getting worse until he has completely lost himself
1. The quote I picked was "Ben,' I whisper, 'Do you remember me? Do you remember me?" because of the fact that it truly represents what is happening to Annie's and Ben's relationship. It shows how Ben is changing for the worst (forgetfulness and depression) and that Ben is at a point where communications with him have basically become impossible and he is far from the man that he used to be. It even sounds like Ben has pure memory loss and can't remember a thing in the world. But what is interesting about this quote is that it also conveys how despite these changes Annie has stuck with Ben and not deserted him. Annie is trying to reach him, trying to communicate, but she is unable to because of this "disease" that is plaguing Ben. It shows how their relationship is falling apart yet Annie is trying to keep it strong.
ReplyDelete2. It is with this quote in mind (along with others) that make me believe that this story is just an extended metaphor for Ben having some mental disease like Huntington's or something. For one, he is experiencing a cognitive breakdown (a common symptom of these types of diseases) in which he is losing memory (hence the quote from #1) and overall his brain is just becoming less and less functional. This explains why Annie describes Ben as different animals throughout the story. Starting as a human (with a somewhat normal brain) to a baboon (whose brain size is smaller and less sophisticated) to finally, a salamander (whose brain is practically nonexistent). The animals are just a metaphor to Ben's cognitive state. Secondly, is Ben’s depression, which is another symptom of brain disease. Ben even says “We’re all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there’s too much thought and not enough heart.” This is a very depressing statement and along with many others it becomes apparent that Ben is suffering some kind of depression. Lastly, is the fact that when Annie went to a Biology teacher and asked about Ben’s condition he stated “The whole process should take about a year.” At this moment teacher wasn’t talking about transformation, he was talking about how long Ben had left to live! And the moment Ben dies was the moment when Annie let the salamander go free on the beach (Annie is letting go of Ben and accepting/letting him pass away). It’s with all of this in mind that makes me think that Ben is going through, not just a depression, but a complete and deadly brain injury. Hence, this story is just a metaphor for a deadly brain injury that is plaguing Ben.
1) the quote I picked was Annie saying, " We'd sit there a be sad and think about being sad and sometimes discuss sadness." I feel as though it really sets up the story and helps drive home the whole point of the metaphor in story, plus most peoples relationships are based on love while there's is based on sadness, is a little weird.
ReplyDelete2) Like others above me, i agree that the story could be some sort of metaphor to Ben developing alzheimer's disease or some sort of dementia and that this is Annie's way of coping with losing her loved one. However, what I find most interesting is that it almost seems as though Ben is doing this to himself on purpose. he mentions on a few occasions that thinking is humans one thing stopping them from truly thinking, it would seem as though he stopped thinking in order to truly feel that emotion he truly strove for. Even more interesting, is that the bookstore called saying that his out of print book on early civilization came in and that it was ready for him. One would believe that someone who didn't want tot think wouldn't want to read which obviously provokes thoughts, so there must be some sort of significance to the book, such as that he wanted to return to the ways humans used to be before all of this "dreadful thinking"
The quote I choose was "I wished for good. That's all. Just good. My wishes became generalized long ago, in childhood; I learned quick the consequence of wishing specific.", because it shows the point where Annie begins to loose, and give up hope.
ReplyDeleteAlzheimer's is a great explanation for this story because it shows the decrease in Bens mental ability. Knowing the inevitable result of Bens changing, Annie realizes her limits and this is when she also begins to try and remember all the good moments that they have spent together. As the animals that Ben changes into get smaller it shows how much farther away from reality that he gets. Although I believe that both Annie and Ben are going through what may be deep depression I think that overall the story symbolizes someone loosing a loved one both mentally and emotionally, and by the end of the story physically.
1. I chose the quote "Look, Annie, look- there is no space for anything but dreaming". Not only did it sum up the story, but it was also italicized; the only thing italicized in the entire tale. I believe that it means that there are more important things to focus on. Even though, apparently, they're sad all the time, it was one of the happier times the couple had right before Ben returned to an animal. It kept the Annie awake as she snuck back out to stare at them. It's clear that he wants her to be happy even if hes not there
ReplyDelete2. I believe that the story is an extended metaphor for loss. The man may be hospitalized or in a condition where he is in unable to recognize her (like everybody says alzheimers) or has been in an accident where he is now in a vegetative state. At the end where there is a "limit of [her] limits", she has to let him go, which either can mean she gives permission to stop life-support, etc.
1. "Now I come home from work and look for his regular-size shape walking and worrying and realize, over and over, that he's gone." I picked this because I felt like it was the saddest point of the story. I think that the hardest thing about losing someone is the times when you forget that they're gone, and you expect them to be there for you as they have always been, only to feel the pain and loss all over again when you remember that they're gone. Annie's situation is unique, as Ben hasn't died, but she's lost him as the person she knows and she is reminded of it every day when she comes home. Not only is he never there, he's always one step closer to being gone forever.
ReplyDelete2. I feel like the story is a metaphor for disease and illness. Whether it be a physical disease such as cancer, a mental disorder such as depression, or even something like drug and alcohol addiction, diseases and disorders are always debilitating. When someone is sick in this type of way, they progressively get worse and become less and less themselves. I've experienced watching some of my family members go through cancer, Alzheimer's and a drug addiction, and in each case I was like Annie, watching as someone I loved become someone unknown and unfamiliar, who was mentally and physically not the person I knew. Annie watches Ben regress throughout the story, knowing the whole time that he is there, she looks in his eyes and knows that it's him, but he's not the Ben that she had a relationship with. By the end Annie accepts that Ben is gone and she must let him go, and she says "I cannot bear to look down into the water and not be able to find him at all, to search the tiny waves with a microscope lens and to locate my lover, the one-celled wonder, bloated and blind, brainless, benign, heading clear and small, like an eye-floater into nothingness." I think this is a metaphor for the fact that in life there comes times when there is nothing you can do but simply love someone with all of your heart and let them go.
'I told them he was sick, a strange sickness, and to please stop calling. The stranger thing was, they did." This is the one connection/ interaction with the 'outside' world in the story. And the interaction tells us-the reader- a lot. Friends and family and even business associates, don' stop calling because of a 'strange sickness'. If anything they would call more. So the fact that the narrator says they stop calling is a huge alert that something is not as it seems. I think this story is about a grieving woman who doesn't know how to cope with the loss of her boyfriend.An extended metaphor of the ending of her relationship. As a way to maybe deal with her loss, she gradually releases him from her mind in the shape of imaginary animals. Each animal he turns into is a step taken, a little more of her attachment has been severed. And by the end she is able to let go.
ReplyDelete"We're all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there's too much thought and not enough heart." To me, the significance of this quote lies in its relevance to current societal trends. With the increasing availability and presence of technology in our lives, people seem to be more focused on objects and developing the next big thing at the expense of other people and sincere connections between them. Within the story, it provides an explanation as to why people will only go so far to aid another without adequate compensation (Annie pays the bio professor, and she reaches her limit with Ben's degradation), but more importantly it gives insight into Ben.
ReplyDeleteYeah... I guess the story relates well to someone with some serious mental regression. When Annie asks him, "Ben"..."can you understand me?" he just stares back with his sea turtle eyes. (How adorable.) I'd say this is indicative that something's up, whether she's simply on drugs or he is having trouble comprehending her communication. Later on, she asks "Ben"..."do you remember me? Do you remember?" I'm no expert, but this seems to point out that he doesn't remember her, which is definitely worse than not understanding, showing that his condition is deteriorating. Also, he has transformed into a salamander by then, so she's increased her dosage or his condition has become worse (because salamanders cannot possibly be more intelligent than or equal to sea turtles. See "Finding Nemo"). These transformations represent his cognitive decline over time. Then she releases Ben the Salamander into a body of water adjacent to a beach, which is like her letting go of him (symbolic death?)
A quote that stood out to me was "I wanted to know him every possible way but I didn't realize he wasn't coming back." WHOOOOOO talk about depressing... I found this quote to be nearly perfect because in a way it sets up the whole meaning behind this story. You get a slight idea that Ben slowly becomes distant, and Annie can't do much about it, which clearly meant that something was wrong....
ReplyDeleteWHICH LEADS to the giant metaphor in this story; Ben has memory disorder and is involuntarily letting his memories go. He fears of more knowledge and memories because he knows that his brain is not capable of storing them, hence why he says "Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger [...] We think far too much". The fact that he is complaining about knowing, learning, memorizing, thinking, etc., clearly shows that he is somewhat inferior when it comes to those certain things. When she releases him (as a salamander) to the waters, it was almost a way of accepting the fact that he's gone, mentally, hence "... he'll wash up on the shore. A naked man with a startled look", meaning that when the time is right, and if it does happen, he'll come back to his full self.
"Sometimes I think he'll wash up on shore. A naked man with a startled look who has been to history and back."
ReplyDeleteThis quote wraps up the whole story in that it reminds me of The Giver. Where the main character receives memories from the outside world and how the community is in fact pretty messed up. The quotes is telling that some one is confused and does not know the world they are living in.
The metaphor is resembled through the characters and the plot. I think it's a story to a child or someone who does not know well enough that a memory and the remembered is a thing to hold tight and keep as it a memory of our past. The person that is told the story is in a confused state as they do not know where they are in perspective to the lesson in the story.
the quote i chose is "I remembered how the first time we had sex, I left the lights on, kept my eyes wide open, and concentrated really hard on letting go; then i noticed that his eyes were open too and i the middle of everything we sat down on the floor and had an hour-long conversation about poetry. It was all very peculiar. It was all very familiar" because that is single handedly one of the strangest scenarios i had ever been forced to read. It makes me uncomfortable, like of all the things in the world, you talk about poetry. for an hour. okay.
ReplyDeleteSo i think the story is a metaphor for growing a part mentally. Like Ben thinks they think too much, and coincidentally starts becoming like an animal to Annie. She can't stop thinking, while Ben apparently thinks too little for her. He could be losing memory or just choosing to forget, but Annie is worried that Ben doesnt have the same thought process as before he turned into animals or whatever
1) “I review my memories and make sure they’re still intact because if he’s not here, then it’s my job to remember.” I found this by far the most compelling and touching quote from the story. The narrator knows Ben is probably not going back to his old self. This is a hard fact to accept because she was completely in love with him. She feels obligated to hold onto his memories because he’s not there in human form anymore. The story is even named “The Rememberer” because it is her job to remember all of the good things Ben was. The story ends with her letting her husband go, but forever remembering him hoping he’ll come back.
ReplyDelete2) I didn’t even make the connection to some type of dementia until reading the other blog posts, but that idea really does fit. People with dementia do in some ways face “reverse evolution” as they progressively lose their memory and return to child-like states. Although the odds are little to none that he’ll return to his old mental state, she refuses to give up hope (for either a cure or a miracle) and remembers the old times with her husband.
1) "I told them he was sick, a strange sickness, and to please stop calling. The stranger thing was, they did. They stopped calling. After a week, the phone was silent and Ben, the baboon, sat in a corner by the window, wrapped up indrapery, chattering to himself. " I chose this quote because I thought it best represents the extended metaphor that Ben has an illness that makes him think that he is different animals at times and comes back to being human at other times.
ReplyDelete2) The extended metaphor is illnesses, probably dementia or alzhimers. Ben seems to be going in and out of reality, you can tell this by Ben "changing" into different animals. When Annie went to see the old biology teacher, she wanted to know how long Ben had left before the sickness completely took him.
1) I picked the quote "I think of the way he wrapped his arms around my back and held me so tight it made me nervous and the way his breath felt in my ear: right" because it shows how Annie and Ben are so close to each other and how their relationship is developing. Even though Annie doesn't understand what's going on, she is still feeling Ben mentally and emotionally.
ReplyDelete2) The story is a metaphor for hallucinations and cerebral botherations. Ben changing into an animal is impossible and irrational. I think, maybe Annie is hallucinating and she doesn't have a grip on reality.
The quote I chose was "I wished for good. That's all. Just good. My wishes became generalized long ago, in childhood; I learned quick the consequence of wishing specific." This shows that Annie just wants everything in their relationship to work out for the best and is afraid of what might happen. As for the extended metaphor, the story is symbolic of change and how people can fear change. Change is ultimately natural, no matter how it happens, if something is changing then something different is going to happen to it. It is out of our control. Just like how Annie nor Ben had control over his "reverse evolution" disorder.
ReplyDelete1.) I chose the quote "My lover is experiencing reverse evolution. I tell no one." I chose this one simply because it's an opening line with a hook that pulls you in and doesn't let go. I like it. In the context of the story, this quote introduces the story and the second part, "I tell no one," reveals that the narrator is either afraid or reluctant to share the news of her lover's "reverse evolution."
ReplyDelete2.) I think that the animals that Ben transforms into offer the biggest insight into the metaphor of the story. First, he transforms into an ape, which is relatively quite close to a human. He recognizes Annie too, which means he retained his memories as well. He just has no way to speak to her, to communicate. The next animal mentioned is the sea turtle, which is where Ben loses his primal connection to humanity, but still can see Annie and know who she is. I would bet that he understands her too, but is too sad (or lost) to say a word back. Finally, the salamander shows the last slivers of Ben's memories fading away, as he doesn't even want his favorite food anymore. He has lost his will to live, for himself or for poor Annie, and all she can do is try to remember him, before this degradation into his animalistic state. When she finally lets Ben go, he is probably dying or so lost from himself and her that she can't bear it anymore. I saw a few of the posts mention Alzheimer's and dementia, which is a very plausible answer for what these changes in Ben represent. Honestly, I think that, instead of some unfortunate illness overtaking Ben, he may be willingly letting himself go. He was so sad with the world and with himself that he may have willingly shed his memories (and the rest of his being) in order to escape from the world that made him so miserable, and not thinking for a moment of his love.
In addition to all of this, the name Ben and the frequent use of water in this story reminds me of the creepypasta (online horror story) "Ben," which also makes use of an extended metaphor throughout the experience of the narrator during a particularly haunted play-through of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Of course, the author/ narrator reveals the meaning at the end, but still it's a good read for horror and video game fans...
Delete1. The quote that I feel is most interesting and important is the one that pulls us in at the very beginning "My lover is experiencing reverse evolution". It's mysterious and compelling, forcing the reader to wonder what the author is trying to say. Not only is it interesting, but the very first line is important because it opens the extended metaphor. It introduces the absurd concept with a potentially deeper meaning that will continue throughout the entirety of the story.
ReplyDelete2. The story is representative of a love that is disappearing. The lover is not physically deteriorating in the way that is described, but he becoming a different person and is leaving her life. According to the narrator, "Now I come home from work and look for his regular-size shape walking and worrying and realize, over and over, that he's gone...I review my memories and make sure they're still intact because if he's not here then it is my job to remember." Ben has not left just yet, but he's going through this "reverse evolution" where, instead of becoming a better person, Ben is miserable in the relationship. Thus, the narrator feels that he could leave her at any minute and she would be the only one who cared to remember the good times they shared together. The extended metaphor about Ben deteriorating into a different species is really the deterioration of his personality into bitterness. As his "reverse evolution" gets worse and worse, the narrator feels as alienated by him as if she can't completely understand him as he gets more and more likely to leave her.
1) The quote that i feel most compelling is "On his last human day, he said, "Annie, don't you see? We're all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there's too much thought and not enough heart." It's controversial in that it indirectly contrasts the de-evolutionary element of the story, as well as that it questions human progression technologically/human evolution itself.
ReplyDelete2) This story's metaphorical meaning is that of the husband's drifting away in the relationship. (Literally drifting away in the ocean.) Throughout the story, we notice Annie's attachment to Ben remaining unequivocal, whereas Ben essentially represents the opposite. His reverse evolutionary proclivities cause him to drift away from, and eventually abandon Annie, both figuratively and literally.
1. The quote that really popped out to me was when Ben said "We're all getting too smart. Our brains are just getting bigger and bigger, and the world dries up and dies when there's too much thought and not enough heart." This quoted stood out to me because it's true. The world is getting too smart; we're surrounded by all this technology and we don't value what people used to view as a luxury.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that Annie is going through something. When reading this story, I though that Annie was viewing things in a way that could comfort her about the loss of her husband. I believe that her husband had died at a young age, and now she was recounting those last days they shared. I believe that she was viewing his getting weaker as him changing into weaker primitives. I believe that Annie was dying, and was just trying to remember her man.
whats the significance of the title The Rememberer?
ReplyDelete