Time is evaluated in numerical measurements, yet it is still indeterminate. Americans view time as a scarce resource that needs to be logically portioned. On the other hand, Southern Europeans do not approve in the strict scheduling of time. Time is of an entirely different meaning to varying cultures and people. The comparison of Time can be evaluated in the work Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and “The Opposite of Loneliness” by Marina Keegan. These texts evaluate the acknowledgment of time and the ability people have to control it. Society focuses on the moments and objects within time, but rarely time itself. In “The Opposite of Loneliness” Keegan takes an aggressive approach towards time. She is frightened by her approaching Yale graduation and the sudden changes in life that it entitles. In her mind time exists, but purely as an obstacle to overcome. She refuses to let time shape her and dictate her path, displayed in her words “The best years of our lives are not behind us… We can still do anything”. Time is lost and…show more content… Throughout the majority of the novel the protagonist traverses through time in distinct segments, first a Brahmin then a Samana and so on. At this point, Hesse seemingly agrees with Keegan’s view that time is a series of transitioning into different phases, but in the end he rebuts it in favor of a circular and infinite view. The sectioning of himself and time brings Siddhartha no closer to finding inner peace. He only succeeds upon the realization that “The world was everything together” and time is an illusion (Hesse, 119). In this way the two texts are similar because they both agree that time does not control one’s destiny, but their similar conclusions are drawn from vastly different reasoning. Hesse argues time by itself does not exist, while Keegan argues that it simply holds no power over