The Concept of Time and the Complications of Storytelling in '10:04' Leah Katz College

Time is a very strange aspect of life. Because time is a manmade phenomenon created as a measurement system, the way it dictates our lives seems unrealistic. Most people view time as a constant force in life, a mechanism for humanity to create plans and measure how much of our lives we devote to work, play, and relationships. The way in which Ben Lerner writes time in 10:04 turns this conventional notion of time on its head, shifting it into a non-linear entity that forms around each individual and becomes much more nebulous in its understanding of past, present, and future.

The narrator of 10:04 references the film Back to the Future regularly, implying a strong connection between the two. Back to the Future quickly brings up the idea of being stuck in time. Not only is the clock on the clock tower stuck at 10:04, but Marty becomes stuck in the past when the time-traveling car runs out of fuel. Similarly, the narrator seems to be stuck in time. He is always waiting for the future to come and change his life. He is waiting for his aorta to burst and for Alex to have his child. Because he is so concerned with his future, and so afraid of the possibility that his medical condition will kill him before he gets to his future, the...