Character Development in A Tale for the Time Being

Character Development in A Tale for the Time Being Each person, wherever and whenever he or she lives, experiences his or her own here and now. Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being explores this idea by following three main characters who are all separated by time and space. Despite the fact that Ruth lives on the Canadian island of Whaletown, Nao lives in Tokyo, and Haruki #1 lives in the past, all of their lives are connected by Haruki #1’s secret French diary. The diaryalthough written in Nao and Ruth’s pastis able to preserve Haruki #1’s here and now, and in doing so, allows the lessons that Haruki learns to transcend through time and space. Through the passing down of Haruki #1’s diary, it is evident that understanding the stories of others is crucial to personal growth. First and foremost, Haruki #1’s understanding of the great philosophers is essential to his legacy. As a philosophy student turned soldier, he battles between his desire to love the world and the responsibility to hate his enemies. At first, Haruki is bitter both towards his fate and towards the Marquis for beating and humiliating his friend. He writes, â€Å"I only hope that I will not die until I taste the sweetness of revenge† (319). However, after writing about Montaigne, Socrates, and the Buddhajust to name a fewHaruki is able to â€Å"learn to die† and come to terms with his fate (323). He chooses death to rid himself of uncertainty and to ensure that his family gets taken care of. In the end, he not only accepts his fate, but also his enemies. Explaining his decision to fly his plane into the ocean, he states, â€Å"Better to do battle with the waves, who may yet forgive me† (328). Evidently, by thinking and writing about the philosophers’ me ssages, Haruki gains a more mature view of the world. Just as the philosophers empower Haruki #1 to come to terms with his situation, Haruki #1’s story empowers Nao to adopt a better mindset. From her unfortunate family situation to the bullying she experiences at school, Nao has every right to have a negative view of the world. She considers suicide her best option, but through the words that Haruki #1 leaves her, she realizes that her life will be better if she learns to love. After reading about her great uncle’s refusal to harm his enemies, Nao states, â€Å"I remembered how I used to ambush Daisuke-kun and beat him up, and also how I went forth as a living ghost to stab my enemy Reiko in the eye. I started to feel so bad about this, I decided I would apologize if I ever saw them again. . . † (386). Nao is proud of her great uncle’s courage, and as a result, she strives to follow in his footsteps and make peace with both her enemies and herself. Thus, Haruki #1’s here and now are able to reach out from the past and influence Nao’s here and now. While Haruki #1’s diary comes into Nao’s life to bring her a source of pride, it comes into Ruth’s life to teach her to be less prideful. When Ruth first finds the Hello Kitty Lunchbox, she is possessive of its contents and hesitant to show them to other people on the island. Because she has writer’s block, Ruth channels all of her energy into proving that the lunchbox washed up on the shore of Whaletown as a result of the tsunami in Japan, and she refuses to accept the theories of experts living on the island. She is even dismissive of her husband Oliver’s ideas; for instance, when he points out that Nao’s father was trying to help her, Ruth snaps at him: â€Å"Are you fucking kidding me? He learns about the hentai site and so he takes pills and tries to kill himself? How exactly is that helpful?† (294). Due to her narrow-mindedness, Ruth fails to see that Oliver is rightNao’s father tries to bid on her underwear to save her fr om humiliation. Fortunately, Haruki #1’s diary helps Ruth become more trusting. The fact that the diary is written in French forces Ruth to seek the help of a native French speaker, Benoit. After reading Benoit’s translation, Ruth realizes that if Haruki #1 and Nao can learn to accept their enemies, listening to the ideas of her husband and neighbors is the least she can do. In fact, her first impulse is to ask for Oliver’s opinion. One of Oliver’s ideas, the one involving multiple universes, actually motivates Ruth to write again because she knows there exists a universe wherein she has already completed her memoir. Therefore, Haruki #1’s diary teaches Ruth that listening to others and accepting their help is necessary to personal growth. Ironically, while here and now are inherently temporary, they also occupy an infinite amount of time and space. Haruki #1’s thoughts and decisionshis here and nowbecomes part of Nao’s story when she discovers his diary. Additionally, Ruth finds both Nao’s and Haruki #1’s heres and nows in the Hello Kitty lunchbox that washes up on the shore of Whaletown. While reading A Tale for the Time Being, we can see that all three of their stories are part of the reader’s here and now. Thus, at any given moment, a person not only experiences his or her own here and now, but heres and nows of the people he or she is talking to, of the musicians playing the music he or she is listening to, and of the author of the book he or she is reading. Work Cited Ozeki, Ruth. A Tale for the Time Being. New York: Penguin Books, 2013.

Laos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Laos - Essay Example The theory rejects the notion that values and principles of any ideology will be the guiding principles of national policies. Laos is a small landlocked state in South East Asia which has been under the rule of a socialist and communist oriented regime since the 1970s. The country has been isolated as it pursued social, political, economic, and diplomatic policies which were in line with the objectives and interests of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Vietnam and USSR were the main allies of the country which pushed forward the communist takeover of the country following the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam during the 1970s. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Communist bloc led to wide ranging consequences for Laos. It has been trying to reorient and refocus its system in order to survive. This paper uses the theory of Realism to evaluate the strength and weakness of Laos within the international political system. It also analyzes the main policies of the country using the concepts of Realism. It also makes recommendations which can help benefit the country in improving its economic, political, diplomatic, and social conditions. Laos is a small landlocked country which is surrounded by powerful countries like China and Vietnam. During the colonial age the country came under French occupation where it was governed like a protectorate. The 1970s witnessed the supremacy and domination of the communist insurgents which overthrew the monarchy (Hiebert, 175). The country is a socialist country ruled by a single party which is the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. The Politburo creates the policies of the government. A constitution was created in the early 1990s which gave the ruling party special powers and roles in the political system of the country. Other political parties were strictly banned in the country while the press is also regulated and controlled by the government. A small insurgency is also prevalent against

Go Look Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Go Look - Essay Example There are layers of interpretation that can be framed for the story that operates behind the love story of Kath and Danny that delights myriad of minds along with encapsulating volleys of social issues and messages underneath. The play ‘Go Look’ opens with a young couple Kath and Danny set out for a camping in a forest at night where they hear a sound of a beast and assume it to be a wild bear. They were camping late at night and Kath sends Danny, as he was the male counterpart in the relationship, to find out the real source of the noise. After awhile, Danny comes back and Danny is found to be setting out some of his frustration towards Kath for sending him alone. Danny yields his brassy comments in a humorous tone and Kath quite smartly counters them. Until this point of time, the relationship between the couple seems to be quite conventional and their chemistry is evident as that operates between any average young couples with unresolved commonplace differences. But the ending of the play, set out in a different perspective, gives a jarring effect to the mind and soul of the readers. The young couples at conflict take decision to bring resolution to every conflict occurring between them an d learn the reason of differences and their mutual likes and dislikes henceforth. This apparently hilarious love story has a strong gender discourse beneath. Playwright Christopher Graybill wants to project the irony present in the assumed gender roles in an ordinary relationship. The male ego which comes at a logger head for following the instructions of a woman is displayed during the initial part of the play. The central idea or the core point of this play is far beyond the source of the noise. The aspirations for the deconstruction of the stereotype gender roles are evident in the play. Danny is a man and accepted with a strong image and so he is supposed to fight the beast. On the contrary,