Background--Barthelme was an artist and sculptor. This fact explains his meticulous attention to giving the reader the setting so realistically. Donald Barthelme “ paints” the setting in the reader’s mind. As Donald artistically puts together the story elements, his creative past shines through. While Barthelme’s view that language defeated itself in that it was no longer effective in communicating, his creative ability to pull so many elements together is evident. The shortcomings of language are overcome by the graphic and bazaar writing style. Art through prose defeats the failures of communicating verbally. In addition, Barthelme’s past shows fervidly here, particularly influenced by the communist threat of nuclear war.
Title-- This title could signify the “game” in which the U.S. played during the years America fought communism. The jacks represent individual countries snatched by the “players” who are countries in effort to impart their governing type. The prevailing struggle of communism in the world stage is the game in which all countries played.
Plot/Conflict-- The first-person narrator and Shotwell are locked in an “underground facility for an indefinite amount of time.” They are to “s
. . .
Russia is trying to find a way to bring America to communism. Theme-- Human behavior altered by our own devices breeds destruction in an ironic manner. hoot the other person upon strange behavior. The threat lied in the nuclear capability so readily deployable. The author here wrote this story in such a manner as to point the reader to this conclusion. 38’s are the “concealed” weapons that are known to both sides. All adds to the vivid effect to show how peculiar and odd his setting and story are. Although government, weaponry, and foreign relations were all meant to benefit us all, they ironically can contribute to our own doom; we eliminate ourselves by trying to advance simply because of human behavior. At this time, the world was a hectic place with the conflicting spread of communism and democracy.
Jacks- represent the garnering of countries for communistic rule. Barthelme adds great effect to the story by this purposeful method. Yet they both try to manipulate the other through clandestine actions. The confinement of the green walls, the latrine, the console, and the erratic air conditioner is all that the narrator knows about his setting. The 133 days, possibly spent in a missile silo, most likely take place in the late 1960’s. The plot is impacted by the tone through the characters abnormal behavior and irregular setting or reason for being there.
Approximate Word count =
1240
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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