MLK "Letter From Birmingham Jail"

   Some years ago, I remember reading Dr. Kings' letter in school. Likely due to the fact that I was a middle school student in a mostly white suburban neighborhood of Massachusetts - it didn't really resonate with me the same way it does today. It took a few more years of public education, social acclamation, and political understanding to feel more connected to this letter. That connection is certainly not because I have any true experience on the matter, but because at my age and in this political climate, I can listen to Dr. Kings' words more clearly.

   There is one particular moment in his writing which hit me the most as something which remains important to this day. The idea of waiting. Dr. King writes: "I have never yet engaged in a direct-action movement that was "well timed" according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "wait." It rings in the
ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This "wait" has almost always meant "never."" (2) Even today, we hear the same argument being made. It is timeless. "It's just not the right time" "politics are too messy right now, don't add fuel to the fire" "Just wait things will change on their own." These are arguments people still make in order to quell the desire for protest in America. Time, for many years, has worked as a manipulative tool. Too often people separate time and the realities of the world that requires action.
 
   To Dr. King, there was no other time to act. The inequalities and injustices in the country had been happening for many years and were happening right there and then. He understood both the illusion of and fleeting nature of time. We are all moments of time. Prisoners of neither the present or the future, but of the moment we are in, however quickly it passes. To Dr. King and those marching with him or for the same purpose, time had already taken its toll on the people, and every new moment that they could not incite change is a moment lost for true freedom. As true as it was during those years, today there is still work in social equality which is to be done. We may hear the same excuses for exactly what the right timing is to act, but there is no question that timing is now.

Identity and Time

As Nao bathes with Jiko in the temple’s bathhouse, she is struck by the thought of Jiko’s identity:

Watching her pale, crooked body rise from the steam in the dark wooden tub, I thought she looked ghostly—part ghost, part child, part young girl, part sexy woman, and part yamamba, all at once. All the ages and stages, combined into a single time being (166).

Jiko, as a time being, is simultaneously every “being” she has been throughout her life.  In a novel about a girl forever chasing the now, constantly attempting to pin down a singular moment, this passage stands out.  Jiko is not separated from her past, as at least the echoes of bygone moments still reverberate within her.  Her numerous identities are in flux.

In this way, Jiko exists in a space outside of time.  She is not separated from time.  She is not fixed in a moment. Jiko is everything at once, just as the past, present, and future are happening at once.  This paradoxical theme in the novel is what seemingly allows Nao and Ruth to affect each other, as Nao is “reaching forward through time” to touch Ruth, and just as Ruth is “reaching back” to touch Nao (26).

Contrasted with Nao, Jiko's past is never really past, but inside of her, “something buried deep inside her body in the marrow of her bones” (97).  Nao cannot be both her past self and her current self.  To her, the girl in California and the girl in Tokyo are too different.  She can no longer make the connection between those moments of time, as one always identity always slips away if she tries : “catching it destroys it, and I felt like I was disappearing too” (99).  Unlike Jiko’s “all-being”, Nao attempts a sort of “non-being,” and, as evidenced by her near rape, it almost leads to disastrous consequences.

The diary itself is similarly in flux: growing, changing, and “receding” as Ruth attempts to move through the pages.  Points are never really solidly fixed, as Oliver’s tries to illustrate in art project, his “collaboration with time and place” (61), where the landscape of the long distance past exists alongside the present it will likely outlast.

Like time, identity is fluid in the novel.  And also like time, it is this fluidity that ensures that identity can never remain the same.  Moments pass unceasingly, but time remains connected.

Thoughts on a Letter from Birmingham Jail

I have read this letter many times, and have always thought the same thing. How sad was it for Dr. King to be imprisoned for something that seem to basic to human nature. Something that should have been so universal to us, but it wasn't. It seems sometimes that the things that should be most simple are the most complex. Something that I find interesting is how timeless this letter is. What is meant by this, is that the piece seems unaffected by time and age. From 1963 to now 2018, this letter from Birmingham jail is still being read and talked about because of the nature in which Dr. King wrote it, but also the way in which he discusses the nature of justice with references to conflicts with in the world that continue to be discussed today such as the Nazi regime, the founding of North America and Christian narratives such as the 18th century prophets.

Something unique about Dr. Kings distinctive experience of time is that although he understands that the injustice that he suffers is in Atlanta, he understands that injustice in Atlanta is injustice in Birmingham. He states, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" (1). Thus, Dr. King seems to connect the injustice of race to all the injustices of race everywhere. Every injustice is like a bead on a string. They are all connected by the string and they are all connected in themselves. He then continues, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny" (1). Dr. King realizes that everyone is responsible for injustice and is affected by it. No one can be considered an outsider because they are still apart of it. This is what makes Dr. King's letter from Birmingham jail so timeless. This moment os time is connected to the past, present, and the future like beads on a  string. In this sense, it seems that this even is shaping time and time is not shaping it.

The eight white religious leaders that Dr. King is responding to seem to fail to understand the same sense of time that Dr. King understands. The eight religious leaders call Dr. King's nonviolent protests in Birmingham, unwise and untimely. There is the conflict between Dr. King and these eight religious figures because both parties are not on the same sense of time. Thus, Dr. King is brining to the attention of the religious leaders that it is always the right time to fight injustice because of not only its universal affects and its ability to touch people from all over, but also because looking at history. This injustice has been a timeless thing. For centuries, the idea of oppressing the minority has been unchanging. With every generation, there seems to be a problem with minority being oppressed.

Dreams as a gateway to multiple universes

Ozeki creates the image of a time being and elicits self-awareness of the self in the present. However, she alludes to quantum physics to challenge the notion that we are one time being with only one existence. The divides between the past, present, and future seem blurred in the novel because she applies the idea of multiple universes to demonstrate how the three are actually one time continuum. They have no distinction because there is none when the universes collide and overlap.

At first, the inclusion of quantum mechanical theory seems randomly placed towards the end of the novel when Oliver explains the cat experiment. However, many times, Jiko reflects this theory with her odd remarks: “When up looks up, up is down. When down looks down, down is up. Not one, not two. Not same. Not different” (39-40). This idea of perspective and observation applies to wave-particle duality, for at the quantum scale a particle is also a wave. In wave form it is neither different nor the same as its particle counterpart; matter and energy have no distinction. When we consider multiple realities, the past, present, and future are all the same thing depending on one’s perspective. This is an analogy for the concept of observing oneself in another universe; your present could be your alternate’s future; thus, the present is the future, but they are neither the same nor different.

            Throughout the book, Ozeki uses dreams to cross these multiple realities. Strange dreams are a reoccurring event for Nao and Ruth, which seem to affect their present lives. Nao stabs an eye of her classmate in her dream only to discover the next day that the girl is wearing an eyepatch. Similarly, Ruth’s dreams seem to affect Nao’s life and evince more words in the diary. Indeed, she begins to consider “that if [she] hasn’t had the dream, Nao’s father might have gone ahead and hooked up with his suicide” (394). Also, she contemplates the idea that her dream took her back in time, so that she actually placed the French diary in Haruki #1’s box. In a way, her dream extended the events recorded in Nao’s diary as if she traversed to another universe and created another outcome. In doubting the concreteness of one universe, her dream makes possible the idea that she woke up to a new outcome; one where the diary was finished rather than abruptly stopped. One where Nao’s and her father live, rather than commit suicide.  

Heightened vs Dulled Perceptions

Last class we briefly mentioned how the fear of imminent death can cause a heightened reality. In A Tale for the Time Being this idea plays a central part to both the characters experiences in the novel as well as the readers experience of the text. The moment Nao mentions that she is going to “drop out of time,” her readers reception of her words changes. Each situation she describes and each feeling she reveals become more emphasized with anticipation of her death (Ozeki 7). The effect of Nao’s imminent death is similar to the effect that we experience when we watch a horror movie. Scary films strategically set up scenes of death by making the audience aware that it is going to happen. The lights usually darken and suspense-building chords start playing to stir up the audience’s negative feelings. Right before the final moments the audience is expected to tense up anticipation and experience an intensified perception of the scene. Often times this intensified perception heightens the viewers senses and provokes them to pay attention to every detail.

Of course, Nao’s diary and A Tale for the Time Being were not intended to be scary texts, but they are still both soaked with the same anxiety that a scary movie is. As the novel unfolds, the reader hones into Nao’s descriptions, emotions, and feelings then subsequently allows their anxiety to amplify their perception of her story. Ruth exhibits this process as she reads and even expresses her anxiety for Nao’s well-being. She says “The girl is suicidal. So is her father. The whole diary is a cry for help. So, yes. Urgency. I’d say that about describes it” (Ozeki 312). As a reader, the criticalness of Nao’s situation intensifies the way she receives the text to the point that her emotions are significantly aroused.

It is worth noting that the readers experience is not just heightened, Noa’s individual experiences are also intensified when she is caught in a critical situation. For instance, when she attacked in the bathroom Nao notices every detail of the situation. She remembers how “the floor smelled of urine and bleach” and how “the tiles were cold on her bare bottom” (276). Every moment that Nao describes seems to be amplified until she goes into a Zazen-like state. When she summons her “supapawa” we see that reality can be dulled just as it can be heightened. Nao recounts that when she did this “the shadows were just mosquitos, buzzing in the distance and bothersome only if you let them be” (Ozeki 277). This moment of a calm, dulled perception is completely different from the intense perception Nao previously gave us, yet it is still the same situation of cruel torture. This complex scene of Nao’s experience reminds us that reality can be both heightened and dulled if we play with our perception of time enough.   

Manipulating Time

            Time is a funny thing, especially for those of us who read.  Much like the character of Ruth in Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, I tend to get wrapped up easily in stories, particularly when I find them interesting. Ruth struggles to find the lines between past and present as she becomes more engrossed. Ozeki paints a beautiful, shifting image of time in her novel, but the final third is truly fascinating in terms of the presentation of events.  The story bursts through the boundaries of time, uniting past and present to create a unique yet united perspective on the human condition and the importance of connections.

            One of the most interesting parts of the novel is the interruption of narration.  Almost the entire novel is split between Nao and Ruth, switching between the perspectives of a teenage girl and an adult woman.  However, a unique interruption occurs with the letters of Haruki #1.  His letters to his mother somehow ended up with Nao’s diary, and so Ruth is left to read them.  One of his final letters contains a striking message regarding his decision to die as a kamikaze pilot. He writes, “Choosing this death gives me tremendous consolation. It gives meaning to my life and profound satisfaction to my filial heart. If the extra compensation feeds you and my sisters, and helps them find good husbands, that will be enough for me” (Ozeki 256).  This quote makes some interesting points on the nature of agency and time.  While suicide is commonly referenced throughout the novel, this particular reference does not necessarily regard it as a choice of despair.  Instead, Haruki #1 finds comfort in his impending death because of the impact it has on his relationship with his family. He is making a sacrifice for the preservation of the people he loves, placing their existence above his own.  Haruki’s decision also bears an interesting implication about the nature of time.  He knows that his life is coming to an end, and he cannot escape it; he is effectively running out of time on this earth.  To find some fulfillment in the end, he takes control of time by choosing death. Although he does not have true agency as a soldier in a war he does not support, he at least has the power to decide his own death.

            Haruki #1’s decision to commit suicide as a kamikaze allows him to take some sort of control of time, a force in the world that most often seems to be outside of human control.  His story interrupts the already nonlinear narrative of Ozeki’s novel, but this interruption is absolutely essential to the telling of the story.  This story from the past unites the less distant past and the present, filling in essential details that connect the lives of the characters while also providing in depth insight on the perceptions of time and our agency in it.

Letter from Birmingham Jail: Martin Luther King, Jr.

            Last year, I was required to read King’s letter but I had never thought to look at his composition through the lens of time. Interestingly, I find this reading more effective and impactful as it allows the reader to realize that this fight for equality did not happen overnight. In reality, this fight was grueling and tedious and it is inspiring to see that Dr. King, through all his time fighting never wavered in his beliefs or gave up. King’s comparison to the Apostle Paul was impactful especially in regard to time because it shows how injustice has not faltered, but transcended time to infect society. Particularly focusing on the societal context when King wrote this, it shows the unabashed mistreatment and inequality he faced.

            Time again proves to have not worked in King’s favor as he realizes the shop keepers who negotiated with him to take down their racist shop signs were giving him empty promises.

He writes in his letter, “As the weeks and months unfolded, we realized we were the victims of a broken promise. The signs remained. As in so many experiences of the past, we were confronted with blasted hopes” (King 1). The time spent peacefully negotiating in order for a better life only to have his hopes crushed is even more painful to witness. King waited to make progress in his fight as these shop keepers sat idly watching the time pass with no progression in his battle for civil rights. Another heart wrenching realization from this passage is that this was not the first time that King and his followers were exposed to this type of false hope. They had been given “blasted hopes before and they were let down, in spite of the fact that they were fighting this battle with peace and discussion.

            Finally, King makes it clear that the fight to destroy racial segregation never had an appropriate time to begin. Working against these oppressors never had a time that was perfect for a protest, yet they had to fight without regards to the right time. Time was fleeting and the longer they waited the longer segregation would continue to engulf the South. King writes, “Frankly, I have never yet engaged in a direct-action movement that was ‘well timed’ according to the timetable of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation” (King 2). Throughout my second reading of King’s letter with a focus on time, I find that it has left a greater impact on me as I now realize how long and insufferable this fight really was. In a more positive light, it is  inspiring to know that King eventually succeeded in his fight, despite his tireless battle and many setbacks.