A Tale for the Time Being

A Tale for the Time Being

by

Ruth Ozeki

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Tale for the Time Being makes teaching easy.
Reiko is Nao’s smart and popular classmate who is the ringleader of the gang of kids that bullies Nao. Though Reiko rarely does any of the bullying herself, she is the one who usually plans it. Nao says that Reiko looks at her as if Nao were “something loathsome or half dead,” and Nao hates her. When Nao’s classmates corner her in the bathroom to try to rape her, Reiko seems to be the one who planned the whole thing.
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Reiko Character Timeline in A Tale for the Time Being

The timeline below shows where the character Reiko appears in A Tale for the Time Being. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part II, Chapter 2: Nao
Coincidences and Connections Theme Icon
(2) After Nao’s funeral, she had a “crazy cosmic dream” about one of her classmates, Reiko. Reiko was smart and popular, and she always looked at Nao as if Nao was... (full context)
Time, Impermanence, and the Present  Theme Icon
Coincidences and Connections Theme Icon
Nao knew that Daisuke and Reiko went to the same cram (test-prep) school, so she cornered Daisuke one day to ask... (full context)
Part III, Chapter 3: Nao
Sexual Perversion and Violence Theme Icon
Nao tried to leave the bathroom, but Reiko and her sidekicks blocked her path. Daisuke was recording the whole encounter with a video... (full context)
Time, Impermanence, and the Present  Theme Icon
Sexual Perversion and Violence Theme Icon
When Nao walked into her classroom, she could hear Reiko and her friends giggling about the auction and the panties. Nao climbed onto her desk... (full context)