Checkerboard of Life

In 1977, Betty Harragan published Games Your Mother Never Taught You. The book shows people how to win the games in their life. "Never lose your head in practice or in the game. A thoughtless act may cause you to be banished because emotional outbursts may cost the team a victory" (Harragan 91). The best game that best describes life is chess. People are really familiar with chess, they know how to play it and they know how to move the pieces in the game. If people really want to win the game, they must focus on the game and plan and choose wisely. After reading "To Deceive or Not to Deceive" by Ben Bierman, "Wine on the Desert" by Max Brand, and "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston, these stories have shown life like a game of chess. The game of chess has so many different possibilities but people pick which move to make, which can make them "win". They cannot go back after they have made their choices.

The character Durante in "Wine in the Desert" is a good supporting example that shows a person who did not take focus his off of his game. In Max Brand's " Wine in the Desert", Durante is a criminal. He ran away from the sheriff and went to Tony's house. Here, Durante had a lot of choices, but because Tony was very nice to him, Tony did everything for Durante. He cooked for him and he brought water for his mule. "Then Tony began to bring the food out into the patio and lay it on a small wooden table" (Brand 486). Tony told Durante that he is a good shooter. "If I Catch them in the sight, they are dead … I must kill them quick… I shoot through the head" (Brand 486). The next morning, Tony shot a rabbit and made breakfast for Durante. Durante decided to make his move after he finished his breakfast; he had to leave before the sheriff came. Before he left he shot the tank filled with water, and told Tony to fill his canteen for him. It made Tony very upset. So Durante left without checking his to run away from the sheriff. After he traveled for a while he discovered...