Memory and Leonard Essay

Submitted By mattib17
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The film Momento is and organized in many ways that add a very unique

structure to this story. Sammy Jankis creates a very interesting twist in this movie which allows us to study and analyze Leonard's condition. This condition is no joke, and leads to the death of his wife as well as many others. In his attempt to bring justice to the
“rape and murder” of his wife, Leonard’s forgetful condition forces him to make many bad decisions such as killing Teddy, and Dodd. The death of his wife can be directly related to modern psychology in many ways.
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Using flashbacks to section different parts of Leonard’s life the director creates a

very interesting movie. Since Leonard has short term memory loss, he is constantly forgetting where he is. Sammy Jankis and Leonard are the same people. I believe he has forced himself to forget about his wife’s death. As he recalls incidents with his
“made up” Sammy Jankis, he explains how his wife slowly loses her mind. He has conditioned his mind to believe that his wife has been raped and murdered. Although she has been raped, Leonard refuses to believe that she killed herself. He burns the photo of the murder of the rapist. As Leonard describes his disorder, he says, “we all lie to ourselves to be happy”. Although he is not aware, he has forgot about the murder of his wives rapist’s. At the end of the movie, Teddy explains to Leonard that his memory has lead him in wrong directions.

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Leonard suffers from short term memory loss. This disorder affects him in

countless ways. He has resulted to tattooing information onto his body. He also takes pictures in order to remember information. Although this can be useful, this system has many flaws. During the film, Leonard writes down false information. As he looks back on these pictures, he is unsure what to do. For example, when the film shows the death of
Teddy, it is due to the fact he has written “don’t trust his lies” on a picture. His condition also leads him vulnerable to easy manipulation. As he is checking into his hotel, the desk clerk tricks him into renting two rooms. He also is constantly believing Teddy as he manipulated him. Natalie gets him to kill the wrong man too. She hides all of her pens in her house so he cannot write anything down.
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Throughout this movie, many themes such as false memory syndrome, and

retrieval cues are represented. The death of Leonard’s wife is directly related to modern psychology in many
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