Conscience and A Tale for the Time Being

     In Ruth Ozeki’s novel, A Tale for the Time Being, she discusses the theme of conscience and the importance it plays in how one lives life.  Haruki #1 and #2 struggle with the idea of conscience, which Haruki #2 defines as “’with knowing.’ With science’” (Ozeki 307).  Haruki #1’s diary of living through military training to become a kamikaze pilot during World War II forces the reader to see respect for those who are at their worst and putting others through cruel and unusual punishment.  Haruki #2 falls into a depressive episode after recognizing the importance of the human conscience and was unable to make it more prevalent in a world filled with war and death.  The two characters accept devoting their lives to intense emotional struggles by living with their moral compasses, using this time to show the reader how to act intentionally. 

 

Military training breaks people into their most vulnerable states with the hope of then rebuilding them into their strongest.  Haruki #1’s philosophical soul is broken in training through the intense and dehumanizing treatment they are forced to endure.  His feelings fluctuate from “fear and self-pity […] into resentment, and then from resentment into rage” (Ozeki 320).  This leads him to look directly into the eye of a leading commander as he is beaten, which finally made his “heart soften” (Ozeki 321).  He found that the officer was human, and had a soul that deserved forgiveness, even for brutal punishment.  Haruki #1 no longer felt the resentment and hatred that had made him inclined to wish to fight back, reminding him and allowing him to act on his moral compass.  He does this again when he flies his plane into the waves rather than an American ship, as he can then live in accordance with his conscience that has “always despised the capitalist greed and imperialist hubris that have motivated it” (Ozeki 328).  His ability to live out what he believes and preaches shows a strong sense of internal connection, which emulates through his writing and seeming spiritual similarity to Haruki #2.

 

Haruki #2 struggles with the definition of conscience, as he works in science, and does not want to perpetuate war, yet he is within his work.  He wishes to change the way weapons are designed to force a greater question of whether people truly wish to kill or not.  This mirrors Haruki #1’s understanding of others, in that it is thinking further past just what others’ motivations may be and then questioning what the motivations of their enemies are.  This would be Haruki creating the weapon that would “make the killing not so much fun” (Ozeki 309).  Part of his reasoning for this line of research is due to the pain that Juki felt when Haruki #1’s plane was thought to have fulfilled a kamikaze mission.  While Haruki #1’s plane did not have a conscience, Haruki #1 did, pushing him to crash into the waves rather than an American ship.  Haruki #2 was not able to make these moral weapons, but he changed the trajectory of his life in order to act on his true values. These two characters exemplify an ideal of introspection, as they both look inside themselves to find how they can best change the world with the environments they have been given.

 

The intense moral dilemmas both Harukis undergo at pivotal points in their lives allow for their characters to develop to become greater beings.  The theme of conscience within this novel finds its place within two mysterious and hidden characters.  There are small glances into each of these men’s minds and each time they are further seen, there is more clarity within the novel.  This could display how looking into one’s own conscience and acting on it may make the world a bit clearer.  Haruki #1 and #2 are both time beings who find meaning within the time they have been given, which is a gift, even if one of their lives was greatly limited in time.  These two men are able to show what morality looks like and live it out in the moments they were given, in order to help more people come to clarity within themselves and limit the tragedy within the world.

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