The Beginning: Winners vs. Losers? - In Whirligig's opening chapter, Brent Bishop perceives life as a competition in which his ultimate goal is to be a "winner" and not a "loser"; he wants to impress all the popular kids at his school so that he can be somebody, rather than nobody. "He was always the new kid, stumbling through the maze, never quite rich or good-looking or athletic enough to join the elite" (10). The human chess match at Chaz's party is a fitting symbol or metaphor for Brent's view of reality because he sees everything and everyone in his life as objects in this game. Notice how Brent views his clothing when he is getting dressed: "To impress without risking being made fun of was his mission, the latter especially important in the case of a party at Chaz's" (9). Also notice Brent's view of people when he considers asking out Brianna, whom he barely knows: "Having her for a girlfriend would mean instant respect" (12). Before his journey begins, Brent's greatest goal in life is to impress his school's popular people and climb the social ladder by having the right clothes, the right car, and even the right girlfriend. This view of life explains why Brent is so traumatized by the humiliation he experiences at Chaz's party; he sees himself as a permanent "loser" whose life is now over.

The End: Dancers in Cooperation? - By the novel's final chapter, Brent's experiences have gradually changed how he perceives himself, the world around him, and his relationships to himself and to others. When Brent walks into a contra-dance, he experiences a different way of understanding life, one that is not about competition, "winning," and "losing." In contrast to the alienation and humiliation Brent experiences during Chaz's chess match, he experiences something very different at the contra-dance: "It was exalting to be part of the twining and turning, and strangely thrilling to touch other hands and to feel them grasping his. He felt like a bee returning to the hive, greeted and accepted by all" (131). Brent has learned to see the entire world and all its people--himself included--in a new way: "In his mind, his whirligigs were meshed..., parts of a single coast-to-coast creation. The world itself was a whirligig, its myriad parts invisibly linked, the hidden crankshafts and connecting rods carrying motion across the globe and over the centuries" (133). Brent has learned that his life is not only about him; it is about every human being. He now perceives that everyone in the world is caught up in the same process as he is, that all people are connected in unseen ways, and that life isn't a contest he needs to "win."

Prompt: In reality, which image or metaphor do you think is the better, more accurate way of understanding life and human relationships--the chess game or the contra-dance? Why?

Consider the following:

The Chess Game - If life is a chess game, then it is truly a competition in which all of us are basically pitted against one another and in which the most important goal is to "win," both for oneself and for whomever one sees as one's "team." Therefore, the best thing in life is to come out a "winner," and the worst thing in life is to come out a "loser." In this view, other people are only important if they are "on your team," if they are your "enemy," or if you can "use" them to "win."

The Contra-Dance - If life is a contra-dance, then it is truly a complex process of cooperation and interdependence in which no one is less important than anyone else, in which everyone is equally valuable, and in which everyone is connected in unseen ways. The most important goal is NOT to "win," because this dance is not a contest and is not about "winning." Since everyone counts and there are no teams trying to win,the most important goal is to learn how to "connect" well with others and develop positive relationships with others, to be aware of how our words and actions impact others, and to speak and act in a way that does good for others (or at least in a way that does no harm).

Last modified: Monday, November 21, 2016, 1:05 PM