Twenty-Three Snapshots of san Francisco

Twenty-Three Snapshots of San Francisco is similar to We Can Remember it for You Wholesale.  In Twenty-Three Snapshots of San Francisco the main character relies on the pictures to fortify his memories. The character relies on his memories of the past to continue to survive in the present apocalyptic world within San Francisco.  The pictures keep him sane thinking of times that are not far off but are far different. This is similar to We can Remember It for You Wholesale as the main character relies on his forgotten memories to give meaning to his life.  The character is completely dependent on his forgotten memories as they give him a sense of significance as he discovers himself to be a secret agent who was involved in a mission that took place on Mars instead of being a normal, therefore insignificant. In an apocalyptic world memories give people a sense of humanity it is the only aspect of their humanity that remains for them to grasp.  They lose their humanity no longer caring for others, leaving people for dead and seeing life being easily taken.  Their sanity and their humanity rest on the memories of a life where people were not monsters just like the protagonist relies on his memories to give meaning to his life in We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.  Both of these short story characters rely on their memories and choose for the memories to define who they are as a person instead of defining themselves by the actions they take in a new world and society.  They place the weight of their sanity and humanity on their character from their memories of past events; yet, past events define who they were in the past but not who they are in a new unfamiliar world.