67 pages • 2-hour read
Say You'll Remember Me
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Symbols & Motifs
The Lava Lamp
The lava lamp serves as a powerful symbol of connection and shared experience between Xavier and Samantha. When they meet at Mother Putters during their first date, Xavier helps Samantha win tickets for prizes, and they ultimately redeem them for a lava lamp. She tells Xavier, “I always wanted to get enough tickets to get the lava lamp” because “[i]t’s not the same if you get it somewhere else. It just hits different from the prize counter” (50). This demonstrates how Samantha values authentic experiences and connections over mere possessions.
The lava lamp becomes a constant reminder of their relationship, appearing throughout the novel in Samantha’s apartment. When Xavier visits her apartment for the first time after they’ve been separated, he immediately notices it: “He peered around and smiled at the lava lamp” (167). This moment reveals how the object has come to symbolize their relationship—something beautiful and mesmerizing that they earned together.
Later, when Xavier gives Samantha her Christmas gift of a seashell necklace from their beach trip, the lava lamp glows in the background, illuminating their intimate moment: “The only light in the room was from the pale glow of the lava lamp on her nightstand” (183). The lamp’s gentle, undulating movement parallels the fluid nature of their relationship—constantly changing shape but remaining contained within the same vessel.
Even during their most difficult conversations about the future of their relationship, the lava lamp remains present, offering a comforting glow in moments of uncertainty. It represents hope and the possibility of their relationship enduring despite the obstacles they face. Like the colorful blobs inside the lamp, Xavier and Samantha remain separate entities but are drawn together despite the forces pulling them apart.
The Dart/Classic Car
The 1966 Dodge Dart convertible serves as a multifaceted symbol throughout the novel, representing heritage, hidden treasure, and the bittersweet nature of memories. When Samantha first sees the car, she’s disappointed by its impracticality, calling it “a land boat” (79). This initial rejection mirrors Samantha’s ambivalence about returning to her roots and accepting the responsibilities awaiting her in California.
The car’s unreliability—with its broken gas gauge, temperamental engine, and tendency to stall—symbolizes the unpredictable nature of life with her mother’s dementia. While demonstrating how she determines fuel levels, Samantha asks Xavier, “You hear that?” and they listen to the “glug glug glug noise as the gas sloshed back and forth in the tank” (138). This makeshift solution represents how the family has learned to adapt to Lisa’s condition, finding workarounds rather than solutions.
The Dart connects Samantha to her mother’s past in ways that transcend Lisa’s memory loss. When Samantha tries to take her mother for a drive, Lisa immediately recognizes the car despite her advanced dementia: “She lit up. It was the first sign of life I’d seen in her since I got here” (83). This moment reveals how certain objects can momentarily pierce through dementia’s fog, bringing momentary clarity.
The car’s most significant symbolic moment comes at the novel’s conclusion when Samantha discovers the family’s missing jewelry hidden in the cigarette compartment: “I gawked between the road in front of me and the treasure trove sparkling from the tray” (352). This discovery represents how the past is never truly lost, just hidden in unexpected places. The Dart ultimately becomes a symbol of intergenerational connection, showing how certain objects can carry memories even when people cannot.
Color and Grayness
The contrast between color and grayness emerges as a powerful motif throughout the novel, functioning as a visual representation of The Interplay of Memory, Identity, and Connection. Samantha first introduces this imagery when describing her mother’s experience with dementia: “I wondered if the dementia felt like walking through a gray version of the world. And then all of a sudden a bright blue car from your youth appears and you know something again. You remember, and it’s the only thing in color” (83). This establishes the metaphor where color represents moments of clarity, connection, and recognition, while grayness symbolizes the fog of memory loss and disconnection.
This motif extends beyond Lisa’s experience to reflect Samantha’s emotional state during her separation from Xavier. When describing their long-distance relationship, she laments, “There would be weeks upon weeks of boring gray without him and then two or three days of color” (203). Xavier’s presence consistently brings color to Samantha’s world. When describing their dates, she notes how everything becomes vibrant and meaningful in his company. Conversely, during their separation, she describes herself as “living now in nothing but gray” (311). Her depression after losing her job and being separated from Xavier mirrors her mother’s gray world of dementia. This parallel between her mother’s condition and her own emotional experience creates a haunting symmetry, as both are experiencing loss and disconnection, albeit in different forms.
The motif reaches its most poignant expression in the novel’s final lines, where Samantha observes her mother experiencing a rare moment of joy: “My mother sat there in full color with her eyes closed, the wind in her hair, smiling” (353). This image encapsulates the novel’s most hopeful message—that even in a world fading to gray, moments of color remain possible through love and connection.
The color/gray motif ultimately serves as a visual representation of the novel’s central exploration of memory and presence. When Samantha reflects on her love for Xavier, she concludes, “Love is the brightest color in a gray world” (347). This final articulation confirms that while memory and connection may fade, the color they bring to life remains the most precious human experience.
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