I have recently discovered several different essays, including: Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.], The Sunflower, and Memento (film). These essays and films address very diverse subjects ranging from segregation to the Holocaust, including violence and opposition. Although the titles mentioned above are all very diverse, they are all linked together by the theme of dualism. Dualism is a separation between two strongly opposed objects and whether we know it or not, dualism surrounds them every day (Comer). Denying respect for a contrasting group or an idea in which one does not believe is also a way of describing dualism. Dualism is presented in many ways throughout one's life; it is a part of our own identity that makes it almost impossible to exist in today's world without separation from an adversary or object. Dualism exists through many factors, one of which may be violence. The entire theme of the movie Memento revolved around an extremely violent man, Leonard Shelby (Nolan, Memento). Memento is a great example of dualism because it exists directly within the plot itself. As a viewer of the movie Memento, I had a similar experience to that of Leonard Shelby. In the film, Leonard Shelby suffered from short-term memory (Nolan, Memento). Our lack of short-term memory makes a realistic depiction of what happened in Leonard Shelby's life almost impossible. I believe that in the film, Leonard manipulates his memory loss to try to make sense of his life. Leonard says: “I remember the past before the accident, but now I only exist for revenge (Nolan, Memento). » I believe that the purpose he is trying to give to his life is to take revenge by killing the man who murdered... middle of paper... an enemy? In today's society, our lives revolve around dualism, everyone has their enemies or rivals and there are disagreements across borders. Our enemies and our disagreements are the separation that creates dualism. Dualism is a separation between two strongly opposed objects. We must always have an adversary or an object to fight against, because without it, in today's world, we would not exist. Works Cited Comer, Todd. "Dualism." Arts and humanities: writing the world. Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio. February 14, 2014. Classroom conference.Memento. Real. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. Newmarket Films, 2001. FilmWiesenthal, Simon. “The Sunflower.” Le Tournesol: On the possibilities and limits of forgiveness. Ed. Harry J. Cargas, Bonny V. Fetterman, and Simon Wiesenthal. New York: Schocken Books Inc., 1998. 3-98. Print.