Card Games in Literature
In the vast selection of games that have accompanied humans in literature, it certainly does not take long before card games come to mind. One only has to consider the symbolic Beggar-My-Neighbor from Great Expectations or the famous game of bridge from The Golden Bowl to realize the relevance, if not significance, of card games in literature.
To further understand this essay, the reader must have a grasp on the necessary historical context. What are card games? How are they significant? One could argue that card games are merely a form of recreation or relaxation and, certainly, were used as so. But as to the answer of the question of the relevance of card games in literature for this must be able to be argued as well. Although centuries of evidence of card games has been referenced in literature (Annals of Egypt and Syria), that does not necessarily indicate their significance to the literary world.
Although it does not take a historian to understand the societal and rhetorical implications found in pair with card games, likewise a certain understanding and familiarity of the past to comprehend the broad and narrow ideas. It must be pointed out that the appearance of card games throughout the great collections of literature, historical documents and expository the same, has been substantial. From the emergence of the first recorded card games during the Tang Dynasty, from which only inferences of importance can be made, to references from European literature in the late 1700’s, to modern times, there has been a significant tie between literature and card games.
Looking at basic deck of cards similarities in appearance arise between the aforementioned deck and the standard bound literary object. Consider how even the basic materials used to make both cards and literature are essentially the same, a simple comparison with the same resonance as the comparisons of the corresponding chemical compounds of humans and the stars. The basic association of the similar physical commonalities between the deck and said literary object directly creates cognitive resonance between them and in the keeping and transference of knowledge and ideas, especially so in the forms of card games (which were coincidentally to be recorded and referenced in such literary objects).
As one compares card games to literature, the reflections of society through literature and card games is hard to ignore. The reader should consider the variety of card games present and how each of these games came to being and the subsequent political, ideological, moral themes, commentaries, and perspectives that must be associated with their respective games. A society’s culture represented through the infinitely diverse literary world, which connections to can be interpreted from all literary works, would ultimately diffuse into the not-entirely separate world of card games. One could argue such literary works influenced the artwork and even the rules and gameplay of card games. Consider how certain events in history may have shaped Card games and literature the same (such as the game Bullshit, a game centered around distrusting what has been stated, which has become popular since the Cold War).
The entirety of this essay gives only one shred of hope us, personally, unfortunately. That the reader will undertake their obligation - no duty - to realize the relevance of card games in literature and to understand the inclination and necessity of being able to play such influential and reflective card games during English not only to enjoy ourselves, but in an attempt to understand the nature of the past and its influences on literature. As for last words, we’ve laid our hands on the table, do you call our bullshit?
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