# Memory and Forgetting in Soldiers’ Pay

> Theme guide for Soldiers’ Pay by William Faulkner.

Donald's amnesia symbolizes a broader struggle to reconcile past and present; other characters are haunted by memories of the dead or try to forget, while the town selectively remembers the war to suit its own narratives.

## Where it surfaces

- [Soldier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/soldier): The imagery of 'tideless golden seas' and the hush surrounding the homecoming suggest a suspension in time, where memory and forgetting intertwine.
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/viii): Emmy's detailed recollection of her past with Donald contrasts with Donald's current inability to recognize her.
- [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/vi): Emmy remembers Donald's head against the sky long ago, but he no longer remembers her.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/iv): Donald's detachment and repetition of 'Carry on, Joe' contrast with Mrs. Burney and Margaret's vivid memories.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/iv): Cecily's wakeful night suggests a struggle with memory or anticipation, as she observes the relentless passage of time.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/ii): The writer clings to the memory of a kiss and the feeling of connection, using it to sustain hope across the distance.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/ii): The passage of time causes local gossip to fade, and Donald Mahon forgets even the dogwood, highlighting how memory erodes and the past is left behind.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/iii): The quiet garden walk and the mockingbird's song evoke a sense of moving forward while still carrying the past.
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/viii): The chapter explores Donald's fragmented memory, as he passes from a dark world into a day long past, his only trophy from Time and Space.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/ii): The boy's sudden sense of estrangement from his home and familiar surroundings suggests a disruption in memory or identity.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/chapters/iv): Emmy imagines seeing a figure across the pool, suggesting a memory or longing that blurs the line between reality and imagination.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/themes/memory_and_forgetting
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/soldiers_pay_se/themes