In William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!", the notion of memory is scrutinized, suggesting that it is less a product of rational thought and more a sensory experience tied to our physical existence. The way we remember is portrayed as being dictated by our senses—sight, sound, and smell—which imbue our recollections with life. Rather than being pure recollections of events, our memories are described as being flawed and dreamlike, indicating a disconnection from objective reality.

Faulkner implies that the brain's function is to retrieve memories not as accurate accounts but as fragments that our senses can access. Thus, memory becomes an unreliable construct, characterized by its inaccuracies and emotional undertones. This perspective challenges the conventional understanding of memory as a straightforward process of storage and recall, emphasizing instead the dominance of sensory impressions and the inherent fallibility of human recollection.