User:Daisja30/sandbox

Edits to Chosen Article Part 1
Original:

Douglas Quail works a menial office job in the "not too distant future." His biggest dream has always been to visit Mars, but is constantly dissuaded by his wife, who is annoyed by this fantasy. Quail eventually discovers Rekal Incorporated, a company specializing in memory implants and supporting artifacts, and decides to get some to satisfy his dream. Quail also fantasized about being a government agent and pays extra to have this added. To the shock of the Rekal technicians, Quail's memories reveal that he really is a secret agent who has been to Mars. Suddenly undergoing a personality change, Quail berates the technicians for blowing his cover.

The Rekal representative, McClane, refunds half of Quail's money and sends him home. Quail decides that his new memories are fake and that the staff just simply botched their job, and manages to get a full refund. He returns home still believing the memories are fake, but discovers a box of fauna smuggled from Mars in his desk. He confronts his wife about whether or not he has actually been to Mars, and she angrily leaves him. Two armed men suddenly enter and reveal that Quail has a telepathic transmitter in his head that allows them to read his thoughts. They then have a conversation that is both verbal and mental which leads to Quail suddenly remembering why he had his memories erased: Quail wasn't just a secret agent, he was an assassin who fought through several bodyguards on Mars and killed a political opponent for Earth's government.

Edited:

Douglas Quail works a menial office job in the "not too distant future." His biggest dream has always been to visit Mars, but is constantly dissuaded by his wife, who is annoyed by this fantasy. Quail eventually discovers Rekal Incorporated, a company specializing in memory implants and supporting artifacts, and decides to get some to satisfy his dream. Quail also fantasized about being a government agent and pays extra to have this added. To the shock of the Rekal technicians, under sedation, Quail somehow regains erased memories of who he really is. Quail's memories reveal that he really is a secret agent who has been to Mars. Suddenly undergoing a personality change, Quail berates the technicians for blowing his cover.

The Rekal representative, McClane, refunds half of Quail's money and sends him home. Quial thinks that the operation was a failure because his memories are blurry, and he remembers his trip to the office to get the procedure done. One of the aspects of the procedure was to forget the procedure was ever done so the memories feel more natural. He returns home still believing the memories are fake but discovers a box of fauna smuggled from Mars in his desk. He confronts his wife about whether or not he has actually been to Mars, and she angrily leaves him. Two armed men suddenly enter and reveal that Quail has a telepathic transmitter in his head that allows them to read his thoughts. They then have a conversation that is both verbal and mental which leads to Quail suddenly remembering why he had his memories erased: Quail wasn't just a secret agent, he was an assassin who fought through several bodyguards on Mars and killed a political opponent for Earth's government.

Setting
Like most science fiction stories, the setting in "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" is set in the future. Though Dick does not specifically state where Douglas is located, it can be assumed that it is in a utopian America and somewhere near New York. Interplan asks Douglas to arrive at their New York location. For them to suggest this location, it indicates that it is the closest location Douglas is near. Since this is disclosed, it shows that the setting is a key factor in the story. Stories that do not include a clear setting are typically harder for readers to follow [wiki source 15]. Dick uses the integral setting style in this story, meaning the setting influences the theme and character interactions [wiki source 14]. It is also clear that Douglas remains in a city atmosphere as he describes seeing many “energetic” people rushing to work [quote from book pg36]. There is technology like hover cars, traffic runnels, and telepathic transmitter’s as a few examples of the advances in technology the society has. Usually, in future settings, such technology is created to perfect the living condition [wiki source 11]. That said, a utopian society is one that is perfect and can only be dreamed of [wiki source 12]. Although we do not get a full description of the world Douglas lives in, the neon lights serve as an indicator that in this future life has taken a turn for the better. Nevertheless, when comparing a utopian society to its opposite dystopian one, Dick also includes the characteristics of a dystopian society. One major characteristic of dystopia is that there is either “no government, or if there is, it is an oppressive and controlling government” [wiki source 13]. Interplan reflect qualities of a controlling government. Another characteristic of dystopia is that the government, or the ruling class, uses propaganda to take control of the human mind [wiki source 13]. Similarly, in this story, Interplan erases Douglas’s memories once they do not need his services anymore. They do this to prevent any negative rumors from spreading about immoral governmental activities. While Dick does present the story in a utopian light, he hints that this utopian dream is the effect of dystopian realities like oppressive government rule.

Characterization and Corporations
Douglas Quail is the main character of the story. He desires to travel to Mars only to realize he already has. He is really a trained assassin that is hired by Interplan.

Kirsten Quail is Douglas’s wife. She annoyed by Douglas’s constant bantering about wanting to go to Mars. She is very harsh towards him and eventually decides to leave him.

Mr. McClane is the head Doctor at Rekal Incorporated. He is good at his job as he has completed many implants. He is described as heavy set, genial, and middle aged.

Lowe is the other worker at Rekal Incorporated. It is assumed that he is the head Doctor at the establishment as he is the one who takes charge in Douglas’s operations. He also informs Mr. McClane of any complications during a procedure.

Rekal Incorporated is an organization that takes part in brain surgery. Their jobs is to implant the patient's desired memories in their head and convince the patient that the implants are real memories.

Interplan is a government association similar to the FBI. They intervene in intergalactic activity yet keep most of their operations a secret from the public. They are the ones responsible for erasing Douglas’s memories of going to Mars.

Point Of View
This story is told from third person perspective. Douglas is the main protagonist and is responsible for the stories dialogue. Third person point of view has two categories; third person limited and third person omniscient [wiki source 7]. This story utilizes third person omniscient, meaning the narrator knows everything about all the characters [wiki source 7]. For example, when Douglas gets ready to discuss his procedure with Mr.McClain, the narrator describes him as feeling tense without Douglas actually expressing this feeling. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using this kind of perspective. For one, third person perspective provides an unbiased tell of the story. It allows the reader to separate the facts from opinions [wiki source 7]. As Douglas starts to regain memories of his true identity, the reader is also going through the process of trying to figure out if Douglas has really been to Mars. A common mistake in third person point of view that Dick avoids is including too many characters. Often times, including to many characters in the perspective can cause the reader to be even less connected to the characters as it can be overwhelming trying to display emotions toward a high amount of characters [wiki source 7]. Dick only gives the reader names to four characters and leaves extra character like Interplan officers and the receptionist at Rekal Incorporated unnamed. To further strengthen this notion, Dick includes first person perspective. Dick expresses a character’s thought by italicizing the text. This serves as a more intimate way of allowing the reader to understand the thoughts emotions of a character [wiki source 8]. Dick reveals many of Douglas’s inner thoughts with this technique.

Imagery
Throughout this story there is a strong sense of imagery that nearly paints the entire work in the readers head as they are reading it. Writer’s use imagery to make their work more interesting and portray a more descriptive message [wiki source 10]. As soon as the story starts the reader gets a detailed description of the Quail’s morning routine. As Douglas waits on his coffee to brew, he takes of morning smoke. However, this is not simply stated in the text. Rather, Dick uses concrete language which “invites or compels the reader to experience” the sensory images [wiki source 9]. This allows the reader to feel as though they are right there with the Quails. That said, since concrete language provokes people to form images, it increases the chances of the reader remembering what they have read [wiki source 9]. Likewise, Dick employs this technique to give his writing a lasting effect. Another example is when Douglas reaches Rekal Incorporated. The building door is described as modern, and “attractively inviting” [quote book pg36]. What he once scorned, has become the very essence of comfortability for Douglas. Similarly, the reader feels this pleasant mood too, which represents how Douglas’s dream is about to come true. Writers use mood to allude to a particular atmosphere [wiki source 10]. Therefore, Dick does not only use imagery to stimulate the readers senses, he uses it to invoke a specific mood as well. Dick uses different forms of figurative language that appeal to the different sense and imply different moods. All of these techniques refer back to Dick’s main goal of providing a visually stimulating piece of literature.

Irony
There is a less reliant use on the literary devices of irony and foreshadowing. The main use of irony can be analyzed when Douglas regains his memory. Ironically, the exact trip to Mars he yearned for in the begging of the story, is the actual trip to Mars he had been on just six months ago. This kind of irony is referred to as situational irony. In situational irony what the audience expects to happen does not, instead nearly something completely opposite occurs [wiki source 16]. Nonetheless, this irony is key to continuing the stories plot. Dick adds this plot twist to keep the readers engaged in what will happen next in the story. Just as Douglas had no clue what he was getting himself into when he walked into Rekal incorporated, the reader does not either. The only hint Dick gives the reader is providing the insights of what Douglas is thinking and feeling in the moment.

Foreshadowing
As Douglas is being prepared for his operation, he has a feeling that something will go wrong during the procedure. This effect is known as foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is an early hint of what is to come in a story [wiki source 18]. Dick uses this technique to help the reader develop suspense. This hint is also very subtle. It does not provide the reader with enough context to expect that Douglas had a completely different identity that was erased from his memories. Therefore, Dick is successful in correlating irony and foreshadowing without one ruining or contradicting the other. This alludes to the next literary device Dick adds to the story which is tone.

Tone
Tone is the attitude a writer has towards a subject, which can be expressed through characters dialog [wiki source 19]. There are many different types of tones. The most basic tones are informal, formal, sad, cheerful, serious, optimistic, pessimistic, and afraid [wiki source 20]. Dick uses Douglas change in identity to correlates with the change in tone the story has. In the beginning Douglas starts as a dreamer, therefore the tone of the story is optimistic. He believes that he will see Mars one day, despite being a low wage clerk. Even when he is faced with the discouraging attitude of his wife, he still proceeds to head to Rekal to get his implants done. There is then a slight change in tone right before Douglas’s operation when he questions the successfulness of the procedure and that he feels that something bad will happen during the procedure. Then, once Douglas is somewhat unconscious his identity change drives the shift in the tone of the story. The tone becomes more serious as ‘the focus increases because the contents” [wiki source 20] of Douglas’s speech are important. Douglas relays information of his true identity that allows the reader under the strong desire he has had to travel to Mars. Since this scene, the story keeps a serious tone as Douglas has to uncover who he really is, if he has really been to Mars, and how he will deal will Interplan.

(Added to the Film Adaptations Section)
Original:

The plot was loosely adapted into the 1990 film Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the film, the hero, renamed Quaid, travels to Mars on a dangerous mission, but the initial memory implant scene foreshadows much of what he achieves while there, causing the viewer to question whether events in the story are real or are all in Quaid's purchased memory.

A remake of Total Recall was directed by Len Wiseman and released on August 3, 2012. This film was largely based on the original and does not credit Dick as a writer.

Even though these three text are not solely based on memory as the foundation of constructing the self, they all depict a man struggling to remember his past life as he realizes his current memories are mere illusions implanted in his memory.

Edited:

The plot was loosely adapted into the 1990 film Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the film, the hero, renamed Douglas Quaid, travels to Mars on a dangerous mission, but the initial memory implant scene foreshadows much of what he achieves while there, causing the viewer to question whether events in the story are real or are all in Quaid's purchased memory. What the film adaptations have different is including aspects like three-breasted hookers, mutants, and a train that travels to the center of the Earth [wiki source 21].

A remake of Total Recall was directed by Len Wiseman and released on August 3, 2012. This film was largely based on the original and does not credit Dick as a writer.[1] Although it does follow the main concepts of Dick’s short story, there are still many noticeable differences. For one, the story setting is in a post-apocalyptic world [wiki source 21]. Yet, this has clearly not prevented humans from furthering technological advances technology like flying cars, superguns, and cell phone implants are available [wiki source 21]. Once the plot passes the ending of “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” plot, the story focuses on Quaid’s attempt to prevent an invasion from the Colony [wiki source 21]. Therefore, this story expands on Douglas’s childhood fantasy of protecting the earth from an extraterrestrial invasion.

Even though these three works are not solely based on memory as the foundation of constructing the self, they all depict a man struggling to remember his past life as he realizes his current memories are mere illusions implanted in his memory.[2]

From Maya Fernandez

 * "Technology operates both within and without the main character’s mind, affecting and shaping internal and external ‘realities’ alike, so that there is no clear demarcation between the dimensions of the tangible and of the psyche." Pg
 * "“We Can Remember it for you Wholesale”, Dick provides the reader with the means to initiate and develop a complex discussion about the ultimate fulfilment of manhood. This idea is traditionally at the heart of action films and, in fact, the specific format used by both cinematic adaptations of Dick’s story stretches science fiction themes over an action film plot." Pg 4
 * "In Dick’s, as well as in Verhoeven’s and Wiseman’s texts, all identity dimensions – class, ethnicity, sexuality, race, age – are configured via the triangle memory-fantasy-consciousness mentioned above." Pg 5

From HJEAS

 * Illusions generated to keep them in enslaved ignorance, pg 2
 * This “shock of disrecognition” leads into the philosophical-theological implications of what Dick calls “the Empire”, pg2
 * The Empire is more that a politically oppressive system: it is a false and oppressive reality of cosmic and metaphysical dimensions, pg 2
 * Time outside of our customary experience, pg2
 * Dick exercised a kind of imaginative time travel, pg 14
 * In his life questioned his own sanity, pg 14

Analysis
This story explores Dick’s idea of an “imaginative time travel”[  ] as Rekal Incorporated is able to implant various fictitious memories of a past life or experience a person has never had. The ability to implant false memories, would allow people to nearly alter their reality and what they think their life has been. Dick allows the reader to contemplate the concept of the ultimate fulfillment of manhood.[  ] Should someone be able to become what they have only dreamed to be or do something they only dreamed of doing? The hypnosis revealed Douglas’s true dream of always wanting to be the savior of the galaxy from extraterrestrial beings. This can be comparative to a person lying to themselves to make themselves feel better about what they have never been able to accomplish in life or what they have not been able to become in life. This story can be seen as a reflection of Dick’s own life as he questioned his own reality.[  ] Therefore Dick’s own paranoia being reflective of Douglas’s skepticism as he questions who he really is throughout the story.

Themes
Throughout this short story, Dick incorporates three main themes often used in science fiction, which are memory manipulation, telepathy, and traveling to outer space. Nevertheless, Dick puts his own imaginative spin on each three of the themes.

Memory Manipulation
Dick relays the theme of memory manipulation through the idea of both erasing memory and the idea of memory implantations. Douglas goes to Rekal Incorporated that specializes in completing memory implants. Later it is stated that this is not the only company that does this kind of work, rather the memory implant business is actually a booming industry. Mr. McClain exclaims that the firm does at least twenty implants a month with people who want Douglas’s same implant. The only obstacle these firms face is that the people they’re operating on have to have enough space in their memory to implant the new, fake memories. When Lowe is faced with this problem, Mr. McClain tells him to overlay the implants on a vacation Douglas has taken. However, the memory implants alone are not enough to fully convince someone of their new memories. Therefore as Mr. McClain expresses, there are many other actions they use to ensure the implants remain successful memories, like 3-D postcards, photos, and souvenirs. Memories help configure who we are. [wiki source2] They ultimately exhibit what morals and ethics rein true in one’s life as one encounters different people and are put in different situations. Not only this, but they also reveal the process that has led to what a person has currently accomplished. Dick suggest that the “potential to rewrite ourselves” [wiki source2] to become whatever we have always dreamed of being has become an extremely popular trend in the future.

Nevertheless, in this advanced future there are possible negative consequences to such technology. As it is later revealed, Douglas is actually a trained assassin used for military purposes, yet, these memories of his life had been erased by Interplan. The false memories Interplan gives Douglas in replacement for his erased ones nearly serve as an “illusion generated to keep [him] in enslaved ignorance” [wiki s1—pg336]. Interplan hires Douglas to kill someone on Mars and they clearly do not want their missions to be released to the public. Therefore, they use the process of erasing memory as a security precaution [wiki source1]. Dick coined the term “the Empire,” which is an extreme version of an oppressive system. He exclaims that “it is a false and oppressive reality of cosmic and metaphysical dimensions” [wiki s1—pg336]. This is the world Dick places Douglas in. The government has more than just the ability to influence its people to believe a certain way, now, the government has the ability to actually manipulate the memories its people have which can completely change someone’s identity. This entire idea relays Dick’s main notion that in the future, memory will not be fixed. Rather it will be what Roger Luckhurst, a professor at Birkbeck College, would describe as “malleable and subject to outside manipulation or control by the state, large corporations, or other shadowy agents” [wiki source2]. The government continues to monitor Douglas even after erasing his memory since they have also implanted a telepathic transmitter into his head.

Telepathy
Another theme that Dick incorporates in this story is telepathy. The telepathic transmitters allow the Interplan officers to both track Douglas, hear his thoughts, and communicate back to him through thought. While Dick does not give telepathic ability to a mere human in the story, he suggests a technology that can work as if one did have the ability to read minds. This theme became popular in the Golden Age of Science Fiction as John W. Campbell Jr. made the concept of EPS popular [wiki source3]. There are many different ways telepathy has been used in science fiction stories, like to better a relationship since people are reluctant to express how they truly feel sometimes and as a link to humanity to break language barriers [wiki source 4]. In this story, telepathy is used as a tool to control Douglas. The Interplan officers know what Douglas will do before he does it, therefore giving him no chance to escape. However, telepathy has been fading in recent years, nonetheless, this story was published towards the end of the psi-boom [wiki source 3]. This can be assumed as the reason why Dick decided to include the theme in this short story. When Douglas realizes that Interplan with be in his head wherever he goes, he makes a deal with them to have his trip to Mars erased yet again.

Space Travel
Dick also includes the theme of traveling to outer space. Dick uses the early science fiction technique of not explaining the space flight, but rather what was experienced during the trip and on the planet [wiki source 5]. Though Dick does not specify the travel procedures to Mars, he does hint that Interplan is also capable of traveling to Pluto. Debatably, Pluto is the furthest planet from Earth, hence the type of spaceship used to travel to outer space is advanced enough to travel far into the galaxy. Then, Douglas provides a description of what he did on his trip and the items he returned with. Along with this theme, extraterrestrial life is often included. When Douglas’s dream fantasy is revealed, the reader gets a glimpse of the kind of alien Douglas thinks of. The aliens Douglas picture are small mice-like creatures that seem weak in appearance. Dick presents an extraterrestrial lifeform that is different than the typically alien known to popular science fiction stories that are depicted as having a big head, bug-like eyes, and long limbs [wiki source 6]. Other science fiction stories depict aliens as being humanoid [wiki source 6]. Dick rejects these two norms to provoke the reader to expand their imagination even further of the possible extraterrestrial creatures that live beyond earth.

While the main theme Dick uses in this short story is memory manipulation, he also incorporates the themes of telepathy and space travel. In an effort to achieve his greatest desire to visit Mars through memory implants, Douglas regains erased memories of his true identity. As soon as Douglas regains these memories, Interplan is able to capture him with the help of telepathic transmitters that allow them to hear his thoughts. Dick uses these three themes to configure a story of a man destined to remember his forgotten memories.

Images

 *  "WonderCon 2015 - Kuato cosplay"   by W10002    is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0        