1968

1968 is the framing time named for both Part One and Part Six, linking the novel’s opening and a later return to the Valley. Its recurrence marks the book’s structure without, in the available evidence, specifying the exact events that occur in either section.

Opening Frame

Part One is headed “The Valley” and dated 1968. Before its numbered chapters, the section presents a Job epigraph: “He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.” The date and setting thus appear together from the outset, alongside an image of strength moving toward conflict.

Return to the Valley

Part Six is also designated “The Valley” and dated 1968. The repeated heading and year establish a structural return to the opening frame. The available evidence identifies this recurrence, but does not detail the intervening chronology or the specific circumstances of the return.

Structural Significance

The repeated 1968 label gives the novel a temporal frame: the Valley is named at the beginning and again in Part Six, while the parts between them are not represented by these headings. The repetition links the two sections at the level of structure, without by itself establishing that they depict one continuous scene or a particular event.