Using William James to help you conceptualize the idea of the self, discuss the function of memory in “Dave’s Neckliss.”

In Dave’s Neckliss, the function of memory in relation to William James’ self is quite self-evident. William James says that to remember something from our past, our memories must be triggered by a “cue”, which functions as a reminder in order to start the recollection process. Therefore, the 'cue' decides how many potential memories could be associated with a specific point. In Chestnut’s “Dave’s Neckliss” Uncle Julius’ frail memory was activated by Annie’s “…. large, sugar-cured ham” pg. 89. Uncle Julius was reminded of a memory, which came to him as a brief passing moment while eating the ham and caused a tear to roll down his cheek. The linking of cue to memory is the thinking aspect. Therefore, if we focus clearly on the correlation, the connected entity will surely be likely to stay within our memory as it did with Uncle Julius. A few things trigger the function of memory in Dave’s Neckliss. First, we see “…. The conditions were all favorable to storytelling. There was an autumnal languor in the air, and a dreamy haze softened the dark green…. pg.90. In my opinion, these current weather conditions that Uncle Julius was speaking about also reminded him of the story he was about to tell. According to James’ writings, the connection between the climate and the ham in this case explains both the general preservation and the special recollection of the memory. Later on, we witness the differences in how John and Annie remember the past versus how Uncle Julius remembers it. “…. The simple but intensely human inner life of slavery. His way of looking at the past seemed very strange to us; his view of certain sides of life was essentially different from ours.” pg. 90. Uncle Julius recollection of his past was understandably different from that of John and Annie’s. He lived his life as a slave, and he is now remembering this story and telling it as a slave. His mind has been enslaved and repressed for so long that it affected his view of life and his memory. Where John and Annie might have memories, which are associated with the fine weather and smooth breezes, Uncle Julius’ will always be affected by his enslavement. As James says, anything that emerges in the brain is first required to be introduced and then when it is introduced, it is introduced as the correlate of something that already exists. For John and Annie, these kinds of memories (of slavery) were never introduced and therefore they never existed because they never lived as slaves; they only heard about slavery, they never experienced it. John and Annie were incapable of recalling memories such as the story of Dave’s Neckliss, but after the heard Uncle Julius’ recollection of the incident it seemed as if it now too became a part of there memories. James states that we can remember something because of our associations because of our organized brain-paths. I think that James means that if we listen to a story or someone recalling a previous memory that in a way it also becomes a part of our memory through association.

References:
Chapter 12 on The Self by, William James
Dave’s Neckliss by, Charles W. Chesnutt