Chance

The role of chance, randomness, and general chaos pervades the narrative and illuminates ideas about life in general through the experiences and actions of the various characters. The narrative begins establishing this theme from the very first page. For example, in order to preface the overall narrative, the narration states, “One thing kept leading to another, and by the time Nashe understood what was happening to him, he was past the point of wanting it to end” (1). This highlights the idea that the course of one’s life is often not in one’s own control. Instead, it is subject to random, seemingly unrelated forces that affect one another in a convoluted causal chain. This pattern holds true for all of the characters in the novel, and it is first demonstrated with the beginning of Nashe’s story. The departure of his wife and his unexpected...