THE FIFTIETH GATE: A JOURNEY THROUGH MEMORY Memoir by Mark Raphael Baker‚ 1997 Ostensibly the story of a son’s attempt to access and narrate his parents’ fragmented Holocaust biographies‚ Mark Raphael Baker’s The Fiftieth Gate also subverts the convention of second-generation memoir writing. A composite of detective story‚ love story‚ tales of hiding‚ and vignettes of discovery‚ The Fiftieth Gate has themes that are synonymous with the difficulties of the narrative construction of the Holocaust
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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”
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record of public events” where memory is defined as “the faculty by which events are recalled or kept in mind”. Thus history and memory interrelate as history can be seen as the contextual justification for memory. “The Fiftieth Gate” is a poignant interweaving of history and memory. The text follows protagonist‚ Mark Baker an historian‚ son of Holocaust survivors Genia and Yossl (Joe)‚ on an historical journey through memory‚ to uncover the origins
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of that event‚ thus re-writing the history of their personal lives. This same fault can also coincide with the flaws that occur in the documentary evidence of history‚ which influences memory. Doctor Mark Raphael Baker’s narrative text‚ ‘The Fiftieth Gate’‚ reveals the nature of history and memory through his attempts to record his parents’ stories and experiences‚ as Holocaust survivors‚ in order to allow a better understanding of his identity and experience in human history. His particular profession
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Memories are more important than history in showing us our past. Do you agree with this statement based on your reading of the Fiftieth Gate? History alone is insufficient in understanding the past as it discounts the personal perspective that memory provides. However‚ this distinctiveness results in varying viewpoints of individual or collective memories‚ making memory alone insignificant as it does not have a singular truth. Memory forms the basis of history‚ while history clarifies certain
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Throughout Mark Baker’s The Fiftieth Gate‚ understanding the past is represented as a continual and dynamic process. Baker gives a holistic representation of his parent’s experience of the Holocaust‚ demonstrating the complimentary relationship between history and memory. This notion is explored in the autobiographical book through the depiction of his parents’‚ and his own past. The bricolage style of the text aids in portraying the interplay between history and memory‚ enabling a more cohesive
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History alone is too factual‚ memory alone is too personal. However when these two are combined they are then able to paint a holistic image of a certain event‚ situation or personality. Mark Baker in The Fiftieth Gate and James Moll’s The Last Days both represent the experiences of the Holocaust through the bringing together of historical documents and personal memories in order to show the importance of interplay between them. By merging personal experiences and historical events Baker‚ when
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Summary of the Speech "The Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington” by President Barack Obama Even though some people think Martin Luther King is only remembered for helping the African Americans rally for their rights‚ he is responsible for much more. He helped Americans find their strength‚ and subsequently helped us learn that in the face of any odds‚ people who love their country can change it together. Barach Obama’s speech was addressed specifically to the King family‚ President
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Summary Gates of fire is a story about Xeones‚ a Greek boy who is a survivor of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. After awhile of living in his village it is over ran by Argives ‚ Xeones then wonders the countryside with two friends and spends his early years as an outlaw. Until one day he is captured enslaved by the Spartans ‚ where they keep him with the other slaves called Helots. He is then paired with Alexandros‚ the son of a high ranking Spartan officer‚ who
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validates memory‚ while memory adds depth to history. These complex notions are effectively portrayed in the award winning non-fiction text ‘The Fiftieth Gate’ by Mark Raphael Baker. Similarly‚ these notions are also explored in the film ‘Schindler’s List’ directed by Steven Spielberg. History and memory lead to cultural knowledge and appreciation. In ‘The Fiftieth Gate’‚ a sense of resolution is reached. Both history and memory work together to reconstruct the past in a way that affects our present. Baker
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