The Enduring Chill: Perceptions of Time as They Relate to Religious Beliefs

Background:

In his essay, “Forms of Time and Chronotope in the Novel,” Mikhail Bakhtin posits the idea that literature, like real historical time, creates both temporal and spatial relationships. This idea is referred to by the name chronotope, which translates literally as “time space.” Bakhtin asserts that perceptions of time-space depend upon the current, ruling literary and ideological assumptions. In the European ideology of Christianity, time is perceived as linear. ). In contrast to cyclical time, which views
nature as a temporal circle and death as an escape from time into a timeless eternity, linear time places emphasis on selfhood and personalized (rather than philosophical) conceptions of good and evil. The ability to perceive good and evil, as it pertains to the individual, allowed for the effects of moral choices to be seen as forces in linear time.

In response to Brad's post, I'm not sure whether or not Flannery O'Connor is relating Buddhism to the foreignness of the city, but it is very possible. I think that topic could be interesting to look at in relation to Said's essay "Orientalism." In this essay the occult and Oriental are contrasted. Essentially, Said argues that Orientalism occurs through repetitions of indirect experiences with the East. This theme, that of indirectness, is somewhat pertinent to the character of Asbury. Asbury seems to experience life indirectly, in that, his perceptions seem distorted from that which is occurs in reality. One example of this is Asbury's blame of his mother. In reality, his mother has done nothing to deserve Asbury's anger. Ultimately, Asbury's assumptions, rather than total submersion in the experience of reality causes his permanent illness.