History is the study of past events. In his novel Waterland, Graham Swift weaves the past with the present to create a cyclical rhythm, which flows through the narrative. The narrative explores the notion of temporality and explains that instead of following a linear pattern, it is, in fact, a circle that moves within itself, representing the past, present and future. Chapters often end in the middle of a sentence, then resume at the beginning of the next chapter, suggesting not only the continuity of the story, but the course of the story. This style reinforces the content of Waterland and embodies the story's theme of continuity. Waterland features a history teacher and narrator, Tom Crick, who was asked to take early retirement due to his wife stealing a child from Safeway, after God told him to (15). To try to understand the present, Tom takes a look at his past and decides to use his experiences as a history lesson, and instead of using the program completely, he begins telling his class his story. He does not believe in progress, man takes "one step forward and one step back" throughout history. Through Tom's personal stories and the juxtaposition of historical facts, the reader deduces that Waterland's narrative believes history travels in circles. Swift also uses specific symbols to represent the cycle through which things happen in nature. At the center of the novel is a river called the Ouse, which reinforces the circular movement of the story. When the narrator describes the flow of the River Ouse he says: “Thus, while the Ouse flows towards the sea, it flows in reality, like all rivers, only towards itself, towards its own source; and that impression that a rev...... middle of paper......-linear. What happens in the past does not stay in the past. Water returns as land is reclaimed, eels reproduce through a circular journey, parents' traits are passed on to their children, and decisions affect the future. Throughout the novel, Tom explains how the story “goes backwards as it goes forwards. It's on loop. Deviations are needed,” and he does the same with the style of his narration (155). The stories Tom communicates show how “[History] repeats itself, how it turns back on itself, no matter how we try to right it. As it goes round and round. How it goes round and round and brings us back to the same place” (162). The narrative embodies the circular progression of time by showing that history is never over, but rather manifests in the present and somehow repeats itself. Works Cited Swift, Graham. Land of water. New York: Vintage, 1992. Epub.