"Memento Mori" and Memento
“Memento Mori” and Memento
Jonathan Nolan’s short story “Memento Mori” and Christopher Nolan’s film Memento are interesting and complex. What makes them interesting is that both of the plots involve a man with short term memory loss who is trying to solve a mystery. And what makes them complex is that both of the stories are told backwards. Throughout the entire story and full movie, the protagonist as well as the reader and viewing audience try to solve a jigsaw puzzle. “Memento Mori” and Memento are similar because they utilize flashback techniques, have similar characters, such as Earl and Leonard, and have similar settings, such as the hotel room.
“Memento Mori” and Memento are alike because they use flashback techniques. In both cases, story and movie, there is a sense of now moment and the immediate past. “Memento Mori” immediately starts in the past. The story starts off with a second person narrator and refers to a moment from the past. Jonathan Nolan writes “Your wife always used to say you’d be late for your own funeral” (1). Jonathan Nolan uses the phrase “used to say” which implies that he is referring to the past. Half of the story describes the past and the other half is in a now moment, which is in third person omniscient. The now moment part of the story shows the reader what the protagonist is doing for that present moment. For example, Jonathan Nolan writes “Earl opens one eye after another to a stretch of white ceiling tiles” (1). What this shows the reader is Nolan switches from past events to present events. Like “Memento Mori,” Memento also uses flashback techniques throughout the film. The film begins with a short clip that is played backwards. For example, it shows a man, the protagonist, holding a photograph of a dead man and then the scene begins rewinding to show the audience how the man in the picture ended up dead. After the short clip is over, the film switches to present mode. For example, the present moment in the film shows
Jonathan Nolan’s short story “Memento Mori” and Christopher Nolan’s film Memento are interesting and complex. What makes them interesting is that both of the plots involve a man with short term memory loss who is trying to solve a mystery. And what makes them complex is that both of the stories are told backwards. Throughout the entire story and full movie, the protagonist as well as the reader and viewing audience try to solve a jigsaw puzzle. “Memento Mori” and Memento are similar because they utilize flashback techniques, have similar characters, such as Earl and Leonard, and have similar settings, such as the hotel room.
“Memento Mori” and Memento are alike because they use flashback techniques. In both cases, story and movie, there is a sense of now moment and the immediate past. “Memento Mori” immediately starts in the past. The story starts off with a second person narrator and refers to a moment from the past. Jonathan Nolan writes “Your wife always used to say you’d be late for your own funeral” (1). Jonathan Nolan uses the phrase “used to say” which implies that he is referring to the past. Half of the story describes the past and the other half is in a now moment, which is in third person omniscient. The now moment part of the story shows the reader what the protagonist is doing for that present moment. For example, Jonathan Nolan writes “Earl opens one eye after another to a stretch of white ceiling tiles” (1). What this shows the reader is Nolan switches from past events to present events. Like “Memento Mori,” Memento also uses flashback techniques throughout the film. The film begins with a short clip that is played backwards. For example, it shows a man, the protagonist, holding a photograph of a dead man and then the scene begins rewinding to show the audience how the man in the picture ended up dead. After the short clip is over, the film switches to present mode. For example, the present moment in the film shows