Question 7

Throughout Question 7, Flanagan uses the motif of death to reflect on micro (personal) and macro (historical) narratives. It contributes to his discussion of Historical Connections Across Space and Time by acting as a node that ties together his two concepts of time in history, the cyclical, synchronistic notion of history as described by the Yolŋu “fourth tense” and the “chain reaction” notion of history wherein one event can trigger multiple events. For instance, when reflecting on his grandmother Mate, he writes “She sat in the dray, she sits in the dray, and even now, long after her death, she is sitting there still” (56). This description provides an example of how life cannot be stopped by death as life is not a single event but something that has happened, is happening, and will happen simultaneously. Flanagan himself describes his near-death experience at 21 as an actual death, following which his life as a writer began. This notion runs counter to linear concepts of time but aligns with a more fluid, cyclical notion of time.

Flanagan likewise reflects on death as a link in the chain of events that led to his life, noting that “that kiss [between Wells and West] would, in time, beget death which would, in turn beget me” (37).