BanksРІР‚в„ў construction of the narrative present is written and textured in the way it is: she is experiencing her past as though it is both her present and her future.Р”В®ventually, as Dr. It eventually becomes clear that this unique experience of time is the reason why Dr. Meanwhile, she finds herself both thinking and experiencing memories in the same multi-leveled way.

Banks finds herself being increasingly drawn to Heptapod B, which she discovers is a language that considers and refers to past, present, and future simultaneously. Banks and her team (primarily Gary) developing both understanding of, and skills in, the oral and written forms of communication used by the heptapods, referred to respectively as Heptapod A and Heptapod B. These memories are not experienced in chronological order, but the narratives of the experiments in communication with the heptapods are. These memories include references to her teenage years, her childhood, and her young adulthood, including her death in a mountain climbing accident. Banks and her team are interspersed with descriptions (written from the perspective of the seemingly time-fluid narrative present) of Dr. Banks and her colleagues make up one of several similar teams around the planet, each tasked with the same ultimate goals: to find out why the heptapods came to earth, and to keep them from learning about too much of earthРІР‚в„ўs technology.Р”В®pisodic descriptions of the investigations undertaken by Dr. The teamРІР‚в„ўs mission is to establish communication with the aliens through what is referred to as a РІР‚Сљlooking glass,РІР‚Сњ one of several similar communication devices sent by the heptapods to different locations on Earth. Banks is joined, on her team, by physicist Gary Donnelly and military officer Colonel Weber.

The aliens are referred to by the humans as РІР‚Сљheptapods,РІР‚Сњ while Dr. Banks narrates the events that mark the beginning of the storyРІР‚в„ўs principle plot: her being invited to join a scientific team investigating the arrival of aliens on Earth. The story then shifts into the past, as Dr. Banks - from a perspective in the narrative present - describes a key point in her life: the moment of decision that led to her daughterРІР‚в„ўs conception. Sarah Banks, a linguist) addressing her unnamed daughter as Dr. This convention of stylistic framing is referred to throughout this analysis as the РІР‚Сљnarrative present.РІР‚Сњ The story is told in first person narrative, and shifts between a pair of perspectives and intentions РІР‚вЂњ a straightforward recounting of past events, and an exploration of events that simultaneously layers past, present, and future. The Story of Your Life, from РІР‚СљStories of Your Life and Others.' Vintage Books Edition, June 2016. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Chaing, Ted.

Story of your life ted chiang summary