Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Tale for the Time Being, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time, Impermanence, and the Present
The Difficulty of Communication
Life vs. Death
Coincidences and Connections
Sexual Perversion and Violence
Summary
Analysis
(1) Ruth recalls that she and Oliver were visiting some friends in rural Wisconsin during September 11. After hearing about the terror attack, Ruth immediately tried to reach her friends in New York. Her editor yelled over the phone that she could see the tower falling down, and then the phone connection went dead. Ruth tried to call Masako, who was back home at the island in Canada, but she couldn’t get through. She thought that her mother, who often got confused about time, would think that Ruth still lived in New York and worry about her.
Ruth, Nao, and Haruki were all impacted in some way by 9/11. This is yet another connection between characters who otherwise lead very different lives. It also emphasizes how big changes—even ones that don’t impact a person directly—can be traumatic and difficult to cope with.
Themes
(2) Since the airports were closed after September 11, Ruth and Oliver rented a car and began to drive home. They saw American flags pop up everywhere and listened to the president promise to get the terrorists. While eating dinner at a restaurant in Montana, their waitress, who looked Mexican, told them that they would be closing early as a security precaution. Later, Ruth and Oliver heard on the news that there had been a spate of hate crimes against Muslim Americans. Oliver realized that their waitress had probably not been afraid of Arab terrorists.
The 9/11 terror attack didn’t just affect the people who’d lost their lives in the event. Its effects rippled outwards and changed many people’s lives for the worse, as Muslim Americans who had nothing to do with the attacks were scapegoated.
Themes
(3) Ruth and Oliver finally made it into Canada, where they felt safe. The people on the island only had a vague notion of the events in New York. Every time Ruth’s mother watched the news, she was surprised that America was at war again and asked Ruth who they were fighting. Months and years passed, and yet Masako was always surprised when she saw the coverage of the war on TV. She always asked Ruth who America was fighting.
Ruth is often frustrated that their island is so remote and isolated, but this turned out to be an advantage when the rest of the world was thrown into chaos. This passage also references the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed 9/11, which speaks to the idea that traumatic events often have serious ripple effects.
Themes
