Exploring the Nexus of Memory, Power, and Identity in Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police

Abstract

The study of memory, power, and identity explores how power dynamics within societies shape the construction and preservation of collective and individual memories, ultimately influencing the formation and evolution of identities. Accordingly, this research delves into the intricate relationship between memory, identity, and power by analysing two dystopian novels, Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police. In both the narratives, the theme of memory and its profound influence is apparent. Lowry drew inspiration from her father’s memory loss, prompting her exploration of a world where painful memories are intentionally eliminated. Ogawa pays homage to Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl and explores contemporary anxieties surrounding surveillance, media manipulation, and authoritarianism. This study seeks to examine how the manipulation of memory by authoritarian regimes impacts the sense of self and collective identity in both the texts. Drawing from the methods of memory studies and literary analysis, the paper explores how the characters in these novels navigate a world where memories are controlled, suppressed, or erased, leading to a disruption in the formation of individual and group identities. Through a comparative analysis of the two works, the paper uncovers the ways in which the manipulation of memory serves as a tool for maintaining dominance and shaping collective consciousness, ultimately distorting individual and communal identities. This study ultimately reveals how language and writing can also be used to resist the dominance of authoritarian regimes over the perceptions of the past, present, and future of individuals and communities.