Summary Of Mark Baker's The Fiftieth Gate

Mark Baker’s “The Fiftieth Gate”, maintains the idea that there could be no avoidance of individual memory as history and memory are intertwining concepts that shape and individual’s value and their sense of justice and identity in unique and evocative ways. The journey through memory is not always a definite one, yet it is this encountering of memory that is often more important than establishing the veracity of memories uncovered. This idea is also demonstrated through the “Eulogy by Earl Spencer”, through his close affiliation with his sister Diana, Princess of Wales; Spencer attains a deeper understanding of representation and meaning, asserting that memory likewise is a unique fragmented collection of events. This in turn intensifies that
The Jewish identity has been remembered in unique and evocative ways through the historical records and layers of memories from survivors. When used in conjunction with memory, history can be a valuable source of illumination and validation to supplement its more personal counterpart. The disastrous nature of the holocaust caused many Jewish people to express doubt about their Jewish identity; this doubt caused them to deliberately repress the memory of the death camps, resulting in them setting the memories aside despite the deeply depressing nature of the experience, precisely because the horrific events will never be assimilated. “Again I find myself peering into memories, black hole”, the paradox of “peering” into a “black hole” is impossible as black holes suck in all light, and can only be found by looking for matter being sucked in. Through this Baker makes the observation that looking into someone else’s memories is impossible, implying that the best that can be done is to see the impact that memories have on a person and the way which they are affected by it. Similarly, parallelism in Spencer’s Eulogy, “We are all united today not
A unique and evocative amalgamation of history and memory enables the individual to embark on a challenging journey, whereby they eventually achieve a sense of respect for truth. In Jewish mysticism, it is believed that there are forty-nine gates that separate ‘good from evil’ and beyond them lies a Fiftieth gate. This is the point at which we stop moving and become aware of who we are. History is often collective and holistic; however memory and testimony are often intensively personal. “It is a symbolic site in an inhospitable wasteland”, the unique and evocative juxtaposition between a symbolic site and an inhospitable wasteland emphasizes how collective memories overwhelm the darkest times. The irony in the syntax highlights the impact that the Holocaust has had on the memories of the individuals, creating “symbolic sites” within “wastelands”. In Spencer’s Eulogy the juxtaposition of Diana’s public and private worlds in “I saw her on her birthday, meeting Mandela”, an evocative coupling together of history and memory creates a multi-layered understanding to provide important details and a sense of legitimacy; simultaneously to explore the personal significance of “her birthday” to Earl Spencer. Here, history contradicts the absence of