Date & Time Writing assignment

 In the second part of “Date & Time”, there are motifs of identity and control, or more specifically the lack of control humans have over their identity. Phil is often antagonized by his classmates over things he cannot control, for example, a classmate says to him “Woah you're practically a skeleton” (43). Then later on he is made fun of by Jonathan for being Asian. His thinness and race are both things very central to his identity. For this reason, this part of the book seems to have an air of restlessness,  as Phil struggles with fitting in. Human identity is often based on appearance, environment, and actions.

He feels as though he is powerless, with the identity that was given to him piloting the way the environment, that he also didn't get to choose, treats him, but he's also able to recognize that those around him don't have much more control over their identities either. On page 58 Phil recognizes that Jonathan doesn't really have a choice over what his body looks like, he can't help that he's fat any more than Phil can help that He’s thin. Phil is clearly an empathetic person who doesn't deserve the teasing, he controls the way he acts and he does it well enough, as he does not antagonize others.

However, despite the lack of control humans have over their identity this section does end with a good note. In the poem, The Appreciation Meditation, Phil lists his thankfulness for what he has been given. The purpose of this is to show that even humans are powerless to how they are perceived they can still be happy since good things appear with the bad. Perhaps the lack of control Phil had is also why he ended up turning to poetry, being creative in a medium often helps build a sense of control. Phil can control his poetry and maybe that's all that really matters. Identity is a shared burden by all of humanity.