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A Faceless Memory
In the 16 years I've been alive I have visited countless memorials. I've seen floating stone heads of various individuals, peered up at the massive Washington Monument, and explored the famous Triumphal Arc in Paris. If I'm completely honest, none of them ever truly wowed me. Of course there was the initial, "Oh my gosh, it's enormous," or , "Look at those beautiful engravings," but not once was I truly moved by a memorial. However, recently in English class we've been discussing the reasoning that went behind all of these designs and I think I'm finally beginning to understand the value of these works of art that I originally believed to be mundane, stone slabs. In war, there are endless amounts of death, and in many cases, there is no physical evidence left to show the damage done. Some soldiers are killed without a trace of their existence left. Memorials, therefore, serve as a material object that can represent the dead. What was even more intriguing was the reasoning behind arc-styled memorials. These monuments centered their focus on the empty space created in the middle. The absence of something substantial leaves room for the dead's spiritual presence and also allow the living to pass through and pay their respects. In a way, this design allows for the alive and dead to co-exist. Another particularly striking idea I discovered was from the line, "By serving as proxy for missing corpses, war memorials reconstruct the inherently contradictory relationship between life and death as we intuitively apprehend it through corpses: death can only occur at the site of life." (Booth 10) The quote basically discusses the idea that death can only be realized when it is contrasted with your own life. I had never considered this conclusion and it forced my thoughts to stop in their tracks. Someone is only considered dead because they can't run and laugh like I can. After taking in all this new knowledge, I've started to grow an appreciation for memorials that I can say I definitely did not have before.
Wonderful post Emily! I really liked how you incorporated your honest feelings in the post, such as never truly feeling vowed by a memorial. I also agree with your analysis on the symbolism of arches. I have never saw the true meaning of why architects use arches to commemorate the dead before this past week. What other memorial forms did you find interesting?
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone Emily! I thought that too, and I really loved how our class discussion opened up my eye to the true meanings of memorials. The level of details put into them and how it all comes together as a bigger picture are what makes memorials so lovely.
ReplyDeleteVery insightful! I felt the same was when I visited these memorials and only now understand the true meanings the hold. I really like your statement about the dead only being considered dead because they can't laugh and run like us. Which memorials do you think have the largest impact on you?
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