The Battle Between Nature and CultureIn Nancy Kress's "In Memoriam", the philosophical question of identity becomes evident. As a son begs his mother to participate in a medical procedure, which erases all memory from your mind, the question "what makes me 'me'?" arises. Set in the future, the mother is faced with a decision: whether or not she wants to die because she has too many memories, or because she has none at all. The son, Aaron, however, takes an entirely different approach; because he believes that it is not a question of death, but rather of life. He believes that by performing the memory scan, "[She] would create new memories, start again. New life. Life, not death!" ( ). Aaron seems to view the procedure on a more linear or quantitative level, while his mother, on a qualitative level. The problem becomes perceptible as a question of nature versus nurture. There are also many underlying symbols such as the neighbor (Aaron's father) who was the subject of a memory scan, the shrine in the mother's back garden for remembrance, and the reference constant to how the mother remembers even the most minute and irrelevant details. of the past. The battle between nature and nurture will be discussed in the remainder of the essay through the characters Cara and Lalia. Cara takes a stand supporting this identity as being the result of experience as well as genetics (nurture and nature), while Lalia maintains that identity is formed only through the transmission of genes (nature). Cara's argument will closely reflect my own opinion. The first dialogue Lalia: Cara, what's wrong? You look very shaken.Cara: Oh hello. Yes, well, I just received some pretty bad news. It's about my father. I lost most of him. He had a serious stroke last night and suffered severe brain damage leading to amnesia. Lalia: I'm really sorry to hear that. However, you haven't lost your father at all, he is still alive. Cara: Is this really Lalia? He doesn't know me or my mother. He has no memories. He lost half of himself. He lost his past and most of what made him my father. Lalia: Our memories are not what shape us..