Rinnie Yang English 111 V Instructor Meyer 12 March 2012 The Perception of Time and the Inevitability of Change

Change defines the passage of time, with our perceptions of time being based upon changes we experience. Whether these changes are the rotation of the hands on a clock or the brightness of the sky, people perceive time through observing their surroundings. [IMAGE: clock.jpg] In Ursula K. Le Guins Semleys Necklace and Winters King, the main protagonists Semley and King Argaven both experience shortened passages of time as they time-jump through space. Though many people fear change, the change Semley and Argaven experienced was much more drastic than what most people encounter. Both Semley and Argaven failed to consider the consequences of their respective journeys, focusing merely upon the results of their current courses. Semley believed she would be unworthy of her husband, Durhal, without a dowry; in her haste disregarding what could happen on her quest to retrieve the necklace. In Winters King however, King Argaven is convinced that continuing her reign in Karhide would be disastrous, with whoever captured and mind-formed her ruling through her. She did not consider that the same problem could exist if another were to rule, as well as the results if that were to happen. With change being overwhelming in usual circumstances, the changes experienced by both Semley and King Argaven through the warp of time were completely unimaginable compared to our experiences of change through the linear time passage in our lives.

Yang 2 In order to understand Semleys predicament, we need to understand how we perceive time. As Nancy Darling, Ph.D. writes in her article from Psychology Today, [w]e mark the passage of time by the number of novel events that occur. For example, when were busy time seems to fly by. When we are bored, with nothing to do, time drags (Darling). Writing this blog, I feel like time is flying by because my brain has been busy trying to crank out interesting ideas and unique sentence structures. What felt like twenty minutes was actually one hour according to the clock on my netbook. Seeing the time shocked me, and I cannot imagine how Semley must have felt since time moved more than three times faster in her situation. Though before she departed, a Clayman informed her that the journey to the location of the necklace will be [a] very far journey . . . Yet it will last only one long night, Semley, in her fervor to retrieve her necklace, failed to detect the suspicious wording of the Claymans speech (Le Guin 16). He was referring to time-jump traveling, in which people travel close to the speed of light through space in order to arrive at a planet light years away in a matter of hours. The Clayman also informed Semley that her [steed] will sleep till you return (Le Guin 16). If the journey actually only took one night, Semleys windsteed would not need to sleep until her return. However, all of Semleys focus was on her necklace, and the thought of having it back in one night led her to agree to taking the trip. Little did she know, one long night meant sixteen years. Time literally flew in Semleys case, because, being so preoccupied with her mission, her instincts failed her and she was unaware that more than hours of time that passed. She returned home to numerous changes that she could not even begin to comprehend. King Argaven and Semley both made the mistake of not realizing the changes that could occur through the passage of time though, to be fair, Semley did not even realize she would be traveling through time. After being mind-formed by unknown enemies, Argaven believes that if

Yang 3 she remains king, she serves her enemies (Le Guin 106). Twelve years passed in Argavens scope of experience, which is in actuality sixty years, when she returns to Karhide and learns that her child, Emran, became a terrible ruler (Le Guin 115). In addition to ruining relations with the Ekumen, she [l]ost Erhenrang, the capital of Karhide back when Argaven ruled (Le Guin 116). Because so much time has passed, the changes that took place accumulated and increased exponentially, similar to a chain reaction. [IMAGE: hastimepassed.jpg] Emrans decision to cede Erhenrang made it necessary for Karhide to have a new, less powerful, capital, which led to the discontent of her countrymen because their competing country, Orgoreyn, now claims the great city of Erhenrang (Le Guin 116). Before Argaven left, all she thought about were the consequences if she stayed upon her throne, but not if her successors ended up ruling no better than she would under the enemies influence. Author J.K. Rowling addresses the possibility of negative consequences accompanying change in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, writing that some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment (Rowling 213). Argavens haste to save her kingdom from herself prevented her from critically thinking about the negative results of her leaving, revealing her error of judgment. In situations like hers, only in hindsight would the consequences seem obvious and inevitable, since you never know what will happen in certain situations unless take a chance and put yourself in that situation. Then, you would logically analyze and make sense of the consequences in relation to the situation. Semley was also faced with negative consequences of her actions. The extreme value she placed on material objects caused her to successfully return with her valuable necklace of gold and sapphire, but without the husband she embarked on this journey for, since he had died during

Yang 4 the sixteen years she was away; she also missed her daughter, Haldre, growing up (Le Guin 23). Though before she left, Durossa, her sister-in-law, tried to tell her that all her husband loved and cared about was her, Semleys foolishness prevented her from understanding this and caused her to miss out on the years of happiness she could have enjoyed with Durhal and Haldre. As Le Guin wrote in Winters King, [t]ime stretches and shrinks; changes with the eye, with the age, with the star; does all except reverse itselfor repeat (Le Guin 106). King Argaven and Semley cannot hope to go back and undo their actions; they can either accept the consequences, or run away from them. Nevertheless, Argaven adjusted to the change and overcame the consequences of her actions while Semley could not. King Argaven not only accepted the changes, she overcame them by overthrowing her own childs reign and resuming her reign in Karhide. King Argaven managed to adjust because she knew better than Semley what situation she was putting herself into. She understood the concept of time-jumping because when Mr. Axt, the Plenipotentiary from Ekumen, asked her if she knew what it meant for the ship to take her twenty-four light years away, she replied: My escape from my time, in which I have become an instrument of evil (Le Guin 107). Argaven decided to take a risk and plunge into the unknown. If she had not taken that risk, she would not have had the chance to return and fix Karhides situation, since she would be the one leading Karhide to its downfall. Her actions are admirable, especially since she disregarded all the time that passed and tried to make the most out of her present situation. For Semley, the life that she knew changed so much that she no longer knew how to adapt and survive in it. [IMAGE: morenoticeabechange.jpg]

Yang 5 Semley, being unable to adjust and accept these daunting changes, turned and ran in order to escape (24). Unlike Argaven, she did not know that this type of travel even existed and therefore, could not even begin to imagine the possibility of this outcome. Despite the shocking results, Semley could have chosen to accept these changes and stay, getting to know her daughter and adjust to her new life. But Semley was too unprepared and nave, making her incapable of coping with the consequences of her quest. We can find many instances of how people react to change and the passage of time in our own world, albeit less extreme than how Argaven and Semley did. In his article Accepting Change, Jake Lawson writes that change is [p]erceived with fear and dread because of its unknown and ambiguous nature (Lawson). When faced with a situation where the result has a certain ambiguity, most of us are reluctant to discover that result because we tend to anticipate the most distressing outcomes. But if we anticipate positive outcomes, then we might set ourselves up for disappointment if the result fails to meet our expectations. To Argaven, nothing could be worse than the enemy ruling through her, so the disastrous nature of Emrans reign did not unsettle her since her own expectations of her own reign, had she remained in Karhide, were far below that. But since Semley did not have any expectations worse than not recovering her necklace, the changes completely devastated her, especially since she was doing this for her husband and returns only to find out that he died seven years before (Le Guin 23). By adjusting to changes like Argaven did, this adjustment can evoke [i]ndividual, personal, social and emotional growth (Lawson). Similar to overcoming adversity in real life, people become stronger and better at dealing with changes; smaller changes will seem almost insignificant to these individuals. When a change seems overwhelming, one of these individuals can tell themselves that they can overcome this one, since they have overcome a drastic change before.

Yang 6 Though experiencing a drastic change is not necessary as a preliminary for future challenges, it does help to compare a current challenge to one already overcame in order to lessen the anxiety of having to tackle this present challenge. By using their experiences as encouragement to accept new challenges, they definitely gained personal and emotional growth. Argaven had already experienced quite a change by spending twelve years in Ollul during her escape. Though her planet and country have changed much since she was last there, she can employ the same skills and mindset she used in Ollul to readapt to her country back on her well-deserved throne. Change is a scary concept for many people, but it is unavoidable. The smallest change can influence other changes, which build up to create more dramatic changes. Our perception of time is based on these changes, and when many changes occur in a given time frame, we will feel like time is quickly passing us by. King Argaven and Semley experienced versions of time passage and change so severe that we can scarcely imagine their predicament. Semley, though her time passage is much shorter than that of Argavens, could not overcome her bewilderment when she was thrown back into a world she supposedly knew, but almost everything had changed. Argaven however, not only accepted her situation but also welcomed the challenge and improved her situation. Changes, however frightening and challenging, must be met with an open mind.

Yang 7 Works Cited Darling, Nancy. "Does Time Fly When You're Getting Old?" Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 17 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thinking-about-kids/201010/does-time-flywhen-youre-getting-old>. Lawson, Jake. "Accepting Change." LIVESTRONG.COM. Demand Media, 18 Nov. 2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/14714-accepting-change/>. Le Guin, Ursula K. "Semley's Necklace." The Wind's Twelve Quarters. New York: Perennial, 2004. 1-24. Print. Le Guin, Ursula K. "Winter's King." The Wind's Twelve Quarters. New York: Perennial, 2004. 93-117. Print. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.

Yang 8 File name: clock.jpg Source: taken by Rinnie Yang

File name: hastimechanged.jpg Source: taken by Rinnie Yang

File name: morenoticeabletimechange.jpg Source: taken by Rinnie Yang