Fitty Fitty Bang Bang

22 May 1905 (65)

"Dawn. A salmon fog floats through the city, carried on the breath of the river."

This is a world of changed plans because time stops and starts in fits. At the end of the chapter, the narrator asks a series of questions, which you should try to answer:

Who would fare better in this world of fitful time?

Those who have seen the future and live only one life?

Or those who have not seen the future and wait to live life?

Or those who deny the future and live two lives?

The world of fitful time – marked not only by spontaneity but also by slow, waiting period – is a very dangerous place for all of those who live in it. Some people have seen their future and thus only live one life, but they suffer from monotony, boredom, and lack of suspense. Others wait to live their lives because they have not seen their futures, creating uncertainty, fear, and too much suspense in their lives. Still, others deny their future and end up living two lives, creating great periods of excitement and later periods of harsh acceptance. All of these people have unfortunate lives, yet one of these types of people does fare better in this world of fitful time.

While this chapter seems to be secluded only to three worlds of fitful time, it implicitly focuses on whether or not people have any prescience for their future. The people who know their future can choose one of two paths – living their life, or choosing to deny it. And the people who do not know their future can only pick one – waiting. But, the greater question may be, how and why do certain people know their futures while others do not? Is it through fate and random chance? Are certain people not ready to receive their future? Are certain people more responsible with their fates? We do not know what the average age or how young one can receive their future, which shows us that there is no definitive, physical age at which someone must receive their fate. In addition, it is clear that both people that know their fates end up choosing one of two tragic paths to follow. Either way, knowing seems to be depressing and not worth knowing. Yet, is not knowing better? Not knowing prevents any type of immediate decisions, and thus decreases the amount of fitful decisions. So, the people who fare best in this world are the ones who suffer the least from fitful decisions.