Category Archives: Essays

Final Manifesto

The Memory Manifesto: How Memory in SF Explores the Concept of Personal Identity

One of the most debated philosophical questions is what makes up your personal identity or your understanding of the self. While your morals and ethics– as well as culture, hobbies, and interests– are all valid components of your identity, I would argue that your memories are at the core of your identity. This is because identity is essentially the accumulation of all your past experiences, which we can recall as memories. In this manifesto we will discuss how the exploration of memory in SF has helped shape the understanding of the self and personal identity. 

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Microreading: Analysis of the “Personal Apocalypse” in The Cage of Sand

In J.G. Ballard’s The Cage of Sand (1962), the three central characters—Bridgman, Travis, and Louise—are trapped in a post-apocalyptic beach town of Cape Canaveral while they are being hunted by the seemingly nefarious “wardens”. However, as the story unfolds, the readers realize that the dystopia does not encompass the rest of the world, but rather is localized to Cape Canaveral. Furthermore, the wardens are not a legitimate threat; they only want to quarantine the characters temporarily to prevent dangerous viruses found in the beach sand from spreading. Thus, the characters’ fear of the wardens is deluded and their entrapment at the beach is self-imposed. Instead of exploring apocalypse on a global scale, Ballard examines the idea of a personal apocalypse, which is when a crisis in an individual’s life mentally entraps them in the past.

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