21st Century Literature and Time

Circularity While reading the final part of A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, a particular quote struck me hard enough to ink a star in the corner of the page so deep it bled through onto the previous. Nao remarks on a quote from the french philosopher Montaigne, who wrote “that death itself is nothing. It is only the fear of death that makes death seem important. Am I afraid? Certainly, and yet… ‘Que sais-je?’ Montaigne asked. The answer is nothing. In reality, I know nothing” (326). I comfort any anxiety I feel over death with the logic that humans have always feared the unknown. Death is another, inevitable experience –– the most natural nature can be. However, it is what Nao says next that touched my heart. She writes, “And yet, at night, I lie on my bed, counting my beads, one for every thing on earth I love, on and on, in a circle without end” (326). Although I can comfort myself with logic, I still know nothing. I still experience the terror of knowing I will die. I still...

I do not know why the format is so messed up, sorry! 

     Ted Chiang writes a mesmerizing narrative in “the Merchant and the Alchemists Gate.” Where time seemingly bends to the will of the user. Time as we have been discovering and discussing in class is pliable and in “the Merchant and the Alchemists Gate” we see that principle being explored in the collection of vignettes.      What I enjoy about Chiang's vignettes, is the exploration of our past. When we talk about time travel we often associate it with going forward. Seeing what is to come. But in Chiang and somewhat in Ozeki’s novel, we explore the the importance of the past. In the vignette of The Wife and her Lover, the relationship between past and present is explored. She begins to unravel layers of time. And as she experienced the past again, she uncovers new information and new perspectives that help her contextualize her present. Raniya said: “I realize now that, even though the past is unchangeable, one may encounter the unexpected when visiting ...

  I would like to talk about the stories of Hassan and Ajib, as both were given the same opportunity, yet used them in two different ways.  Hassan was a ‘maker of rope’ when he stepped through the Gate of Years, to only meet his older, richer self. In fact, the first thing his future self says to him is that he had been waiting for his arrival. Hassan used his visit with Hassan from the future for good. He was genuinely curious about the life he had been able to make for himself, and wanting to know how to achieve it. Future Hassan told him simple tasks such as ‘walk on the North side of the street’, ‘do not buy eggs from this one grocer’, and ‘buy extra hemp’. All these otherwise simple choices that we are all faced with in everyday life, lead Hassan to where future Hassan to the position he is in now. Hassan was also thankful that future Hassan did not disclose every single choice or event that would happen, as there was still some surprise and choice of ‘free will’. For e...

  Emma Straus   21 st Century Literature and Time   The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate   September 2022       “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” is a commentary on fate, time, and the human experience. The story is filled with small vignettes in which the characters search for truth s , fortune, and personal redemption. Each vignette offers a lesson. But with each , there is the fixed mystery of time that binds each character to their fate.   The story seamlessly crafts wisdom regarding time and how it is spent, as well as what part each character plays in their own “tale”. Like the narrator pondered about how his and Raniya’s tales might intersect, only to realize, “... I remembered that my goal was to play a hidden role in my own tale .” (p. 52) This portion of the story was striking. Today in media and stories that revolve around time travel, many characters travel to the past or future to change some life-altering thing. But as no...

  Will Pikus              The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate  gives us a window into a different kind of the experience. The short story provokes us to think about what we might ask ourselves if we could meet the person we become in the future. It also teaches us a valuables lesson about free will.              There is a gate within this short story. If one is to pass through the gate, they will surely meet themself in the future. Despite the fact that they can ask anything, it’s impossible to avoid a life of misfortune. It is said in the story that Allah will still choose to punish an individual if he thinks it is necessary. Chiang writes the following quotation “So even if you succeed in avoiding the misfortunes that your older self experienced, there is no assurance you will not encounter other misfortunes.” (Chiang 24). It is then explained that ...

  Chiang in Relation to Time             As I was reading Chiang, I found it interesting that there seemed to be an understanding of fate as well as karma agreed upon within the Muslim story. Multiple times throughout the tales from both Fuwaad and Bashaarat specifically they mention the ways and the wills of Allah in relation to their understanding of how time works. The prevalent quote throughout Fuwaad’s story that he heard from Bashaarat is “The past and the future are the same; we cannot change either, but we can know both more fully.” (35) Both characters agree through the evidence of the Gate of Years that time is fixed, and Fuwaad remarks that “nothing erases the past, there is atonement and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.” (51)             While we have discussed the possibility of a fixed timeline versus something that we can define pers...

Exhalation  Story Blog             I found this story interesting, and, in a way, bittersweet. What interested me this most—and what I hope we discuss in class—is the story’s central theme: “…the future and the past are the same…we cannot change either, but we can know both more fully” (41). The author plays with our understandings of time since many of use view the past as unchangeable and the future as infinitely changeable. But how does that work when we travel through time in unconventional ways and through unconventional means? In stories such as  Back to the Future , different futures exist because of changes in the past. In this story, however, the past and the future are determined by each other—and because one is fixed, so is the other.             In this story, not only are past and future interwoven, but the past and future selves of many people a...

                One of the sayings that struck me from "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" is about  coincidence and intention. Fuwaad asks younger Bashaarat if it is a coincidence that the man builds his  store and the gate in Baghdad 20 years later or if it is because of Fuwaad's visit. Bashaarat replies,  "coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry... you may find one more agreeable to look at, but  you cannot say one is true and the other is false," (Chiang 51). It is probably very easy for us to think of  examples of things we have called coincidences throughout our lives. What if we flipped the tapestry  around and said that they happened for a specific reason?           The danger in attributing everything to chance is that we might miss the beauty and utter meaning  that can be drawn from the little things in life.  Our lives could be a lot less monot...

          In his piece “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” Ted Chiang presents a compelling narrative about the role that time plays in a person's life. One aspect of this story that stood out to me most prominently occurs during Chiang’s explanation of the Gate of Years. Here, as Bashaarat explains the process, he writes, “Afterward, you could step back through the Gate of Years and return to the present day”(17). This concept stood out to me, as it made me question what the present day really is, when it is so easy to transport yourself to another time. If one can take actions in the future that impact their lives before that moment, then the concept of the present becomes practically erased. In our modern society, it is the present that determines the future. When this notion becomes reversed, it takes the meaning out of the moment, thus erasing the sense of time. This notion persists throughout the remainder of the story. Towards the end of the s...

While reading “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” I was fascinated by how the past, present, and future are portrayed as happening at the same time and are all interconnected. A story that stood out to me was the story about the weaver who stole gold from his older self. The young weaver (Ajib) stole from his older self because he thought that he deserved the money to spend while young rather than just his older self who was saving the money. Later in the story, he discusses the money with his wife, and they decide he will save up the money to pay back would be taken from him" (Chiang, 33). Ajib is aware that his younger self will come again to steal the gold that he has saved up.          This presents the idea of the past, present, and future as interconnected but also presents a lime loop of sorts. Ajib knows that his younger self will come through the gate because that is what he did in the past. Therefore, there must be another Ajib liv...

 

The final third of Ozeki’s novel showcases the climatic growth of Ozeki’s featured characters, allowing her to emphasize the prominent point made by Dogen Zenji: “If you understand time as only passing, then you do not understand the time being.” (Ozeki, 259) The final third places the main characters, Ruth and Nao, as well as their counterparts Oliver and Haruki #2, in the peaks of their emotional turmoil. Nao is dealing with her own issues with identity and self-worth, while her father struggles with his shame and consciousness. Ruth is struggling with her motivation and feeling stuck in the past, while Oliver deals with his own confidence and the loss of his cat, Pesto. These moments divulge into the end of Nao’s diary, in which Jiko is on her death bed, and marks the moment of development for these characters. Nao makes the realization on her way to Jiko’s temple that “This is what now feels like.” (Ozeki, 341). In Jiko’s final moments, she writes a ‘poem’: the Japanese character...

A Tale for the Time Being  Final Third Analysis: Sanity, Reality, and Time-Being In this last part of the novel, Ruth finally finishes the diary and learns (partially) the fate of Nao and her father. Except, Ruth’s “finishing” of the novel happens twice, in a way. I found this double end interesting because of a question lingering at the back of my mind since we first began this story: is any of this real? And, in conjunction: is Ruth going insane? Ruth reads the first ending of Nao’s journal where she “catches up” to now: “Nobody sees me. Maybe I’m invisible. I guess this is it. This is what now feels like” (341). She turns to the next page, but there’s nothing there. Ruth knows that there was more “because on at least two occasions she had checked, riffling through to see if the girl’s handwriting had persisted to the end of the book, and indeed it had” (343). And yet, the words are gone. The reader begins to question the reality of things, especially when she reaches the point o...

Will Pikus      A central theme in the story of  A Tale for the Time Being,  by Ruth Ozeki, has been suicide. Throughout the book, Ruth’s concern for Nao grows increasingly. As Nao’s emotional state worsens with each entry, it becomes apparent that she’s becoming more and more casual about suicide. Since her mind is set on it, it almost seems as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulder. Unfortunately, this is something that happens in real life to those who are victims of their own mental health. There are many stories of people sounding happy right before they’re never heard from again.             It is evident that Nao has begun to feel better when Ozeki pens the following quotation “Making the decision to end my life really helped me lighten up, and suddenly all the stuff my old Jiko had told me about the time being really kicked into focus. There’s nothing like realizing that you don’t have muc...

In the final third of Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, old Jiko gives Nao and her father a seemingly simple – yet to them, a difficult – task: “to live” (362). While her final request to her descendants affects them deeply because of their suicidal ideations, it is also Jiko’s final comment on Zen Bhuddism. In the practice of Zen, one must be rather than think about being in order to truly be alive, so, Jiko’s request of Nao and Haruki #2 tells them to stop worrying, stop planning, stop thinking – just to live. Neither Nao or Haruki #2 actively lived in the moment before Jiko’s death, instead, they planned for the moment they would cease being. After her death, reporters, priests, and those who admired Jiko assumed that the meaning of her final writing, just the singular character for the phrase “to live,” was complex, deep, and mysterious. However, Nao and Haruki #2 are the only ones who understood the true intention of her final word. She simply tells them to be alive. By doing s...

 Katie Roessel EN 487 21st Century Literature & Time 9/19/22 A Tale for the Time Being: Through the Lens of Schrodinger's Cat     "A Tale for the Time Being" is a novel that is, in all senses of the word, incredibly meta. The story itself has so many layers and different perspectives that eventually become entangled, despite being a decade and thousands of miles apart. We read Nao's diary from the perspective of Ruth, seeing her thoughts and analyses in the margins as footnotes, and then we read Ruth's third-person narrative about her perspective on Nao's diary and Ruth's own personal struggles, which she reflects upon based off what she reads in Nao's diary.     Throughout the novel, one of Ruth's biggest mysteries while uncovering the secrets within the lunchbox and the diary was Nao herself: did she really exist? Or was her diary a fabrication of someone's cruel imagination? This mystery grew even deeper when Ruth could not find a single...

          Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being presents an extremely eye-opening account of the role that time plays in a person's life. After finishing the novel, one aspect that prominently stood out to me was the definition of what it really means to live that is developed throughout the novel. This idea is highlighted prominently in the scene just prior to Jiko’s death. Here, Nao explains that it is tradition for a Zen master to write a poem on their deathbed. On the following page, Nao reveals Jiko’s final poem, which is the single character meaning “to live.” Nao then reveals Jiko’s final words, “For now… for the time being”(362). I believe that this aspect of the novel helps progress the novel towards its final meaning. Throughout the entirety of the novel, Nao is fixated on how limited her life is. Constantly, she discusses the idea of the moment. In Appendix A, Ruth translates Nao’s idea of the moment, writing, “A moment is a very small particle...