The Million-Dollar Monopoly Tournament
Ginny chooses to play as the thimble for the monopoly game. A thimble is a small hard cup worn for protection on the finger that pushes the needle for sewing. The most obvious representation for this device is protection, something Ginny desperately desires. She wants to be protected from the unfamiliar outside world and her secrets. While Ginny has never really left the family farm, her life has been filled with numerous hardships. Her mother died when she was only fourteen, leaving her to fill in the role of a mother and wife. It was Ginny’s job to take care of Caroline, her youngest sister - from reading her bedtime stories to teaching her manners. Ginny was also tasked with responsibility of caring …show more content…
Pete’s indecisiveness between the wheelbarrow and the mounted horseman is very significant. Growing up a “city boy” and having “the image of James Dean” (Smiley 30), Pete had a much different upbringing and early life than the Cook family. Ginny says that “he had real musical talent - he played four or live instruments well enough to put himself through college playing in three different ensembles” (Smiley 30). For a while it seemed to everyone that Pete would make it as a musician, his music “carrying him to cities - Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and beyond.” (Smiley 31). But then due to not making enough money at his gigs, and his destructive anger ruining his chances at a record deal, Pete gave up music. This musician, “city boy” part of Pete represents the mounted horseman. And the determined farmer who wants to make something of himself represents the wheelbarrow. Pete struggles with choosing either the wheelbarrow or the mounted horseman - the farm life or the musical city life. In the end, Pete said that “he was tired of the road, and even of music, that he wanted to settle down and learn how to farm.” (Smiley 31). The wheelbarrow wins. But the fact still remains - Pete was an outsider and will always be an outsider. Choosing the wheelbarrow does not erase the fact that he chose the mounted …show more content…
It may seem strange, but in just one little passage, Jane Smiley is able to show just how each person thinks and acts. “It was Pete, actually, who proposed adding the scores of the games, throwing in bonuses for certain strategies and pieces of luck, and shooting for a million dollars of Monopoly money.” (77). In addition, Pete proposes a prize too. “..a hundred dollars, if we all put twenty into the pool, or a weekend in Minneapolis (how about L. A.?), or two days of farm chores in mid-January.” (77). Both these quotes shows how Pete is looking for a payoff in the situation rather than a pitfall. Jess, a “city boy” just like Pete, thinks the same way. On the other hand, Ginny, Rose, and Ty play like farmers. played like farmers, “...looking for pitfalls, holes, drop-offs, something small that will tip the tractor, break it, eat into your time, your crop, the profits that already exist in your mind…” Born and raised on farms, Ginny, Rose, and Ty act like farmers too. These contrast prove evident when Ty stays calm and keeps farming during the lawsuit. Unlike him, Pete can’t handle it, and with all his anger builds, makes fatal mistakes. Jess too, shows his contrast too, when he leaves the farm and abandons Rose. He wanted an immediate payout, and when he did not find one, left for Vancouver. Rose and Ty stay on the farm as long as they can hoping to continue on the farming
Ginny chooses to play as the thimble for the monopoly game. A thimble is a small hard cup worn for protection on the finger that pushes the needle for sewing. The most obvious representation for this device is protection, something Ginny desperately desires. She wants to be protected from the unfamiliar outside world and her secrets. While Ginny has never really left the family farm, her life has been filled with numerous hardships. Her mother died when she was only fourteen, leaving her to fill in the role of a mother and wife. It was Ginny’s job to take care of Caroline, her youngest sister - from reading her bedtime stories to teaching her manners. Ginny was also tasked with responsibility of caring …show more content…
Pete’s indecisiveness between the wheelbarrow and the mounted horseman is very significant. Growing up a “city boy” and having “the image of James Dean” (Smiley 30), Pete had a much different upbringing and early life than the Cook family. Ginny says that “he had real musical talent - he played four or live instruments well enough to put himself through college playing in three different ensembles” (Smiley 30). For a while it seemed to everyone that Pete would make it as a musician, his music “carrying him to cities - Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and beyond.” (Smiley 31). But then due to not making enough money at his gigs, and his destructive anger ruining his chances at a record deal, Pete gave up music. This musician, “city boy” part of Pete represents the mounted horseman. And the determined farmer who wants to make something of himself represents the wheelbarrow. Pete struggles with choosing either the wheelbarrow or the mounted horseman - the farm life or the musical city life. In the end, Pete said that “he was tired of the road, and even of music, that he wanted to settle down and learn how to farm.” (Smiley 31). The wheelbarrow wins. But the fact still remains - Pete was an outsider and will always be an outsider. Choosing the wheelbarrow does not erase the fact that he chose the mounted …show more content…
It may seem strange, but in just one little passage, Jane Smiley is able to show just how each person thinks and acts. “It was Pete, actually, who proposed adding the scores of the games, throwing in bonuses for certain strategies and pieces of luck, and shooting for a million dollars of Monopoly money.” (77). In addition, Pete proposes a prize too. “..a hundred dollars, if we all put twenty into the pool, or a weekend in Minneapolis (how about L. A.?), or two days of farm chores in mid-January.” (77). Both these quotes shows how Pete is looking for a payoff in the situation rather than a pitfall. Jess, a “city boy” just like Pete, thinks the same way. On the other hand, Ginny, Rose, and Ty play like farmers. played like farmers, “...looking for pitfalls, holes, drop-offs, something small that will tip the tractor, break it, eat into your time, your crop, the profits that already exist in your mind…” Born and raised on farms, Ginny, Rose, and Ty act like farmers too. These contrast prove evident when Ty stays calm and keeps farming during the lawsuit. Unlike him, Pete can’t handle it, and with all his anger builds, makes fatal mistakes. Jess too, shows his contrast too, when he leaves the farm and abandons Rose. He wanted an immediate payout, and when he did not find one, left for Vancouver. Rose and Ty stay on the farm as long as they can hoping to continue on the farming