 |
| "Chess" by Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) |
This prompt has 2 sets of questions. You may respond to either, both, or neither.
Set A:
Consider the game that frames the opening scene in Haig’s novel: who is playing it, when, where, and why. Consider how it might change the dynamics of the novel if the characters were playing a different game.
How does this opening chapter relate to the quotation from Plath and the description of the library that is between life and death?
Consider the game that frames the opening scene in Haig’s novel: who is playing it, when, where, and why. Consider how it might change the dynamics of the novel if the characters were playing a different game.
How does this opening chapter relate to the quotation from Plath and the description of the library that is between life and death?
Set B:
Based on this scene, what is your first impression of, Nora? (Keep that impression in mind as you continue to read the novel. Pay attention to whether your impression of her changes.
Responding to Set B, I think that the scene introduces Nora as disinterested, jaded, and somewhat anxious about the future. She doesn't seem to show any interest in her future options, her mind is on her trouble at home.
ReplyDeleteB- My first impression of Nora is that she is intelligent but also closed off. She is in the library playing chess with the librarian while other kids are outside and playing games with their friends. She is anxious and acts like she enjoys being left alone. Even though the librarian is saying that it is normal to worry about her future, she seems as if she enjoys worrying about it. Like its her own escape from the issues she may be having at home.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Set B, my first impression of Nora is that she’s introverted which also causes her to be observant. Like Alexus pointed out, while other kids are outside playing games, she is playing chess with her librarian voluntarily. She seems to be very intelligent as chess is an intuitive game, and throughout the chapter she lists of facts she knows. Lastly, Nora has trauma from her mother’s treatment possibly clinging to Mrs. Elm as more of a mother figure.
ReplyDeleteResponding to Set A:
ReplyDeleteThe game of chess played between Nora and Mrs. Elm is a very deliberate choice made by Haig. It connects to the Plath quote in that chess is a game that involves a great variety of major and minor decisions that produce a larger result, that being victory or defeat for a player. It is a tactical game in which a limited number of pieces with a limited number of individual moves can produce a seemingly infinite number of different combinations of outcomes. Few players - if any, to my limited understanding - will be able to experience all of these combinations despite their dogged search for new ways to play the game. The fact that Nora and Mrs. Elm, the librarian (quite deliberate, as we will discover), are playing the match in the school library foreshadows the nature of the Midnight Library. Within the Library, an infinite number of lives can be lived in which decisions made in an individual's root life are changed. These small changes in life decisions, like the small moves made in chess, can have a drastic impact on the overall life that one can find within the confines of the Library. It is easy to see, as a result, why Haig places the match at the beginning of the novel to "set up" the narrative to follow.
-Eli Grasso
DeleteResponding to set B. The novel's first sentence tells us how Nora plans to die in ninteen years. As I read, I noticed how indifferent Nora is about her future even as a child. With this and the comment Nora makes about how her mother treats her, I grow to assume Nora has a hard home life. Nora is guarded, but the library is her safe space. As Reece said, Nora most likely confides in Mrs. Elm due to her own mother's treatment.
ReplyDeleteIn response to set B. It seems like Nora is a very introverted person and a very deep thinker. It's not the fact that she doesn't like other people, but the fact that she likes to feel safe and comfortable. I think we can see that in the library where Mrs. Elm is somewhat of an escape for her from the outside world. We can continue to see that nineteen years later where she is ok with being alone because she understands what being alone is. Yet, she enjoys seeing other people too as we see by her being happy to see the familar face at the door.
ReplyDeleteSet B, she honestly comes across as that exceptionally intelligent introvert who never speaks a word in class. Yet, in her comfort zone with her preferred company, she blossoms into a more conversational self. Mrs. Elms acts as her surrogate mother or a kind of cool grandparent figure. If given a choice, Nora would opt to engage in a game of chess with Mrs. Elms in the cozy library—a place that has seemingly become her second home—rather than join the kids playing outside.
ReplyDeleteSet A;
ReplyDeleteThe opening chapter begins with chess as the game, which I believe relates to the book as a whole and is a metaphor for the library between life and death, along with Plath's quote. While I've actually never played, by just observing a game of chess, I know it's not like checkers in the fact that you can play multiple ways and take multiple paths to win or lose, based on your experience and want. Just like in life. You can play with determination and speed, with logical steps and patience, etc. Just like how you play chess affects the way you succeed or fail, how you go about life determines how you end up.
-Briana Grigg
Set B: From my first impression of Nora, I could pretty quickly recognize that she is a loner you might say. You can tell that she likes her alone time away from everyone, and I also think that she is going through a hard time. She feels as if she's not good enough, and is seen worrying about her future. Nora spends a lot of time with the librarian instead of students her own age, which makes it look as if she's an outsider.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Set B. She comes across as introverted and insecure about herself. It seems that she likes to be alone because while all the kids were outside, she was inside playing chess with Mrs. Elm. Nora comes off as if she only enjoys the company of certain people rather than a big group, in other words she’s introverted. Mrs. Elm is like a mother figure to Nora with all the things that are hinted to be happening at home. One of the things mentioned is that her mom seemed to worry more about her appearance rather than loving her the way she was as a baby by taping Nora’s ear because it stuck out farther than her liking.
ReplyDeleteIn response to set B. Nora seems to be very introverted but also very intellectual. Due to the large amount of story between her and Mrs. Elm within this chapter it may be that Nora finds comfort in the library and the company Mrs. Elm provides. In finding the comfort from Mrs. Elm, she takes on the role of Nora's mother by being supportive of her and encouraging her.
ReplyDeleteResponding to set B, my first impression of Nora is that she keeps to herself and that one of the only people that she genuinely confides in, and trusts is Mrs. Elm. Right off the bat, it is shown that plans for moving away have already been on her mind, most likely because of her home life. Even a faraway continent such as Antarctica doesn’t satisfy her want of leaving. Not only did Nora stay in the library because of the weather or the other children, but because of the warmth that Mrs. Elm gave her. Whether or not she actually enjoyed being alone is a different question, she was either accustomed to it, or found it to be the only solution.
ReplyDeleteResponding to Set B, Nora seems like a worrisome and negative kid in this chapter. She probably does not have many friends, since she is spending her time with the librarian. It also sounds like she does not have the best parents. - Matt Pittman
ReplyDeleteResponding to set B, my first impression of Nora is that she is a lost teenager stuck between doing what makes her happy and doing what the people in her life expect from her. From this chapter alone, it sounds as if Nora may be struggling with her mental health due to the pressures placed on her by her family.
ReplyDeleteSet B: My first impression of Nora is that she struggles with the expectations people put on her. She seems to enjoy learning and is quite intelligent but has reservations when it comes to what she wants to do in the future. From how her mother treated her as a child Nora likely thinks of herself as a mistake in some capacity, which explains why she seems to not have a plan for her future. While Mrs. Elm tries to help Nora by telling her all the things she could do with her life, but I think that Nora focuses more on how she would mess up in anything she would do.
ReplyDeleteThe quotation from Plath set the mood of reality, that it is not possible for one to live all the ones they want to. Suddenly, our hopeless main character is presented with the opportunity to live all the lives she desires in order to find one free of the regrets she is sure consumed and doomed her life. When we meet Nora, she is very much struggling with the stagnancy of her life and catastrophizing every event around her subconsciously. I could very much relate to her spirals as she experiences a very bad day.
ReplyDelete- Sam Ray
Set A:
ReplyDeleteI think that chess is a very good foreshadowing for the book. Chess is a game where you can have so many different moves, patterns, endings, winners, and options. Whether you are a grand master or it's your first time, no two people will play the exact same game of chess. There are so many different ways to end up at the same conclusion, but also different ways to end up in very different places.
Set B:
I think that the first impression of Nora was someone who is defeated. She has gone through these tragedies in her life and she feels as if she has lost. Relating back to chess, she thinks that she is in check. Whenever you can't see a move to save yourself instead of fighting to win you just lay down your king and realize that you've lost this one. No matter how we see her life, she thinks that this is the only way she can win.