Although the past has been chronologically removed from present time, “the past is never dead nor buried. In fact, it’s not even in the past,” William Faulkner said. The theme of time is a common expression in American literature, as seen in The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver, and Middlesex, by Jeffery Eugenides. Both authors demonstrate the importance of the past by showing past historical events and how they changed the characters' lives. Kingsolver and Eugenides use the past tense and express its importance, rather than considering it “dead.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay In Lacuna, the past was an important part of the present because Lev Trotsky's past followed his present and affected the main character, Harrison Berger, impression of humanity. When the reader meets Shepherd, he, a young boy, often goes "to the sea again for most of the day" and cares little for the weather, much like when he is older, which contrasts with Trotsky's past - a past full of stories. important previous actions (Kingsolver, 7). “A False Telegram on a Train” forced Trotsky to live abroad for the rest of his life, demonstrating that the past sets a precedent for the rest of life (Kingsolver 244). Because Trotsky was constantly hunted and under the pressure of death from that point on, every moment of life is more valued. Because Shepherd has had such a simple life, with so little respect for the past, it is difficult for Shepherd to understand this until Lev is killed. On August 27, 1946, six years after Lev's death, Shepherd said, "Last week, this very day, even the bedroom was too uncertain a place," inadvertently expressing his grief over Lev's death (Kingsolver 326). Because Lev was the only father figure in Shepherd's life who called him son, his death carries a lot of weight for Shepherd. Suddenly, Shepherd's understanding of the concept of the past elevates. Before, for Shepherd, the past was just a period that had already happened, but Trotsky's death was caused by Trotsky's actions 13 years before his assassination. This awareness of the importance of the past is carried by Shepherd, allowing him to better understand the importance of the past. The importance of the past is also impressed upon Shepherd when he is accused of being a communist, due to his ties to the Mexican Communist Party. Party. The U.S. government, already understanding the danger of his past experiences, is frightened by the prospect of Shepherd's communist past and what he might preach to the American public when his previous jobs become common knowledge: a translator during the Trotsky trials and a cook loyal to Diego Rivera. The American public, openly worried about the prospect of the Communist Party rising in the United States as it did in Russia, stopped reading Shepherd's New York bestsellers altogether because of a "Ban" showcase Harrison Shepherd”,” claiming that Shepherd is a communist (Kingsolver 473). The United States has tried to learn from the past mistakes of other countries, but it is taking extreme measures, destroying the livelihoods of innocent people. Never before had his past affected his present so radically. He finally realizes that he cannot separate himself from his past and decides that he must "commit suicide" to create a new life. In Middlesex, Lefty and Desdemona don't need to commit suicide to separate themselves from their past, they just need to move to a new life. country and obtain new documents.