Memento Essay Questions

Why does Teddy call himself Teddy?

Teddy, the cop who has been manipulating Leonard, refers to himself as Teddy because, ironically enough, he has the same initials as the man who killed Leonard's wife, John G. Leonard is intent on killing people named "John G." because whenever he encounters one, he is led to believe that he is the man who killed his wife. Teddy covers up his real name to avoid the vengeful wrath of Leonard.

Why are there black-and-white scenes scattered throughout the film?

Christopher Nolan shot nearly one-third of the film in black and white. The black-and-white scenes run in chronological order and show Leonard in a mysterious conversation with someone on the phone in his motel room. The black-and-white parts allow Nolan to reveal some exposition while also creating a feeling of suspense and mystery, as we do not know who Leonard is talking to and the more of these scenes we see the more we come to realize that the person on the other end of the line is manipulating Leonard.

Why does Leonard drive a Jaguar and wear a suit every day?

Leonard has short-term memory loss, and after Teddy reveals that Leonard has already killed his wife's murderer, Leonard realizes that Teddy has manipulated him into killing someone he did not mean to kill. Thus, Leonard decides that he must make it so that his future forgetful self mistakes Teddy for his wife's killer. Leonard takes the suit from Jimmy, the drug dealer whom he killed, and also takes his car. It is not quite clear why he switches identities with Jimmy, but it is all part of his desire to be in control of his future, to move forward and make some changes.

What philosophical argument does Leonard make about memory and truth?

Because of his condition, Leonard cannot trust anything except the facts that has written down and physically encoded outside of his own mind. He meets everyone anew everyday, and so must rely on the careful notes he has taken for himself. Existing this way leads him to believe that human beings can never trust anything except facts. He also learns, however, that facts are malleable, and can be manipulated to change people's perceptions of reality. At one point he says, "Memory's not perfect. It's not even that good. Ask the police. Eyewitness testimony is unreliable. The cops don't catch a killer by sitting around remembering stuff. They collect facts, they make notes and they draw conclusions. Facts, not memory. That's how you investigate. I know. It's what I used to do. Look, memory can change the shape of a room. It can change the color of a car and memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation. They're not a record. They're irrelevant if you have the facts." In this, Leonard makes the point that our perceptions and memories are interpretations of facts, not facts themselves.

What is the twist ending?

At the end of the film (which is really the beginning of the action), Leonard learns that he has already killed his wife's assailant, and that Teddy is a dirty cop who has been manipulating into killing people for him ever since. He also learns that the Sammy Jankis story was not actually true and that his perception of it is really just a way of masking his own guilt about his memory condition.