How Time Affects Memory in "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" - Post 2

There is something to be said about memory, and interestingly enough, the memory of Arthur Gordon Pym shows a lot about his character and human character in general within “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket”. Pym suffers from a traumatic ordeal which he recounts during chapter one, right on the onset of the book, and not one chapter later, he has this sudden urge to go out to sea again. But why is that? Why would he want to go out to sea after he admits that “I was resuscitated from a state bordering very nearly upon death (and after every other means had been tried in vain for three hours and a half)” (16)? Such an experience would normally drive one away from what caused the event in the first place.

Yet, for one reason or another, Pym ends up devising a plan to set sail once again. His feelings in the matter, instead of fear, are that he “never experienced a more ardent longing for the wind adventures incident to the life of a navigator than within a week after our miraculous deliverance” (18). He explains this turnaround as such: “The short period proved amply long enough to erase from my memory the shadows, and bring out in vivid light all the pleasurably exciting points of colour, all the picturesqueness of the late perilous accident” (18). I find all this interesting because it can be related to many people's memories today. After a while experiencing an event, it either fades to nonexistance or strengthens considerably. An example that can be likened to Pym's is when, say Person A has a huge argument with Person B, and they resolve to no longer be friends. After a time, the two people still hate each other, and can still strongly recall the hatred they felt in the heat of the moment – however, they would be hard pressed to remember the argument that caused their falling out in the first place.

That's sort of what I'm saying. Pym's want for adventure after a terrible incident shows how selective our memory is: how it chooses to remember some things and forget others. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if after Pym's whole adventure with nearly dying of thirst in the brig that he would want to go out to sea again, given some time to dull the terrible memory.