The Story | Class 11 English Notes

The Story and Time in Daily Life

Forster draws a parallel between the story’s chronological nature and human experience of time in daily life. He explains that daily life is governed by a sense of time—events follow one another in a sequence: breakfast precedes dinner, Monday comes before Tuesday, and so forth. However, human experience is not solely about chronological time; it also involves 'value'—moments measured by intensity rather than duration. Memory and anticipation do not perceive time evenly but highlight significant moments, creating 'pinnacles' of experience. Dreamers, artists, and lovers are partially freed from the tyranny of time, sometimes ignoring its passage altogether. Forster argues that while daily life reflects a dual allegiance to chronological time and value-based experience, the novel must adhere to time as an organizing principle. The story, as the narrative of events in time sequence, is indispensable to the novel’s structure. This section highlights the contrast between the fluidity of human experience and the fixed temporal framework required in storytelling.

🔗 Connection: Leads to a philosophical reflection on the nature of time and its treatment in novels.