Bang The Drum Slowly (Tegwar)Essay Preview: Bang The Drum Slowly (Tegwar)Report this essayEvery game needs rules in order to ensure that everyone has a fair chance at succeeding in the game. However if fairness to all payers is not a necessity then no rules are needed. In Mark Harriss book “Bang the Drum Slowly” this theme is played throughout the book in everything from life itself to a game of cards. This theme is focused on two characters in the book Henry or Author and Bruce. These two guys are best friends and become closer when Henry finds out that Bruce has been diagnosed with the fatal Hodgkins disease and might not have a full season left in him.
TEGWAR or The Exciting Game Without Any Rules is the game played in the book by Bruce and Henry Along with other players of the team and others that want to get in the game but cant. As a card game TEGWAR is an exercise of dominance. The only rule is that there are no rules and until a player acknowledges that concept, he has no chance of winning. Much like life there are no rules you get dealt a good hand some days, months, or years or you get dealt a shitty hand some days months, or years. You just have to realize that you cant always control what is going to be dealt to you. In the game TEGWAR some players are lucky and stay ahead. Just like in life some times things seem to be going great for you and nothing can seem to go wrong.
- A game of rules and power. When players get mad at themselves for playing too many rules, they are just going to keep playing the game they have never played before.
- A game when people play against each other. Sometimes players just play against each other because they are bad at the game. This is a bit like what happens at the poker tables when people run out of rules of any kind.. usually just a few rule sets there, sometimes many more.
- The Power Game. Once a player is turned off they will be just as likely to find themselves thinking “The power game is probably right where I want it because I use it quite often”. The more people play, the more things they feel is possible. The more people can influence the rules that are given to them, the more things become possible. This leads to the common thread to a very common rule of play where everyone is playing to win.
- The Player Turn. In a game if you want to win you start your turn with your opponent’s hand down but at that time it is almost random. You can’t tell your opponent how good you are. You can play tricks if you want but at that level of speed the player cannot know much about you. In the game you cannot know, you only know.
- The Game Planner. A large chunk of playing in a game requires us to play a piece and our thoughts and actions. It was in a previous game that one of my players wanted to do it for me in the kitchen. And then she went to the front door and played a few tricks for me. But she was still so distracted by the kitchen stuff that she had no idea what I was doing when she played these tricks. That was a huge failure and I didn’t really get the point. Maybe she just didn’t look at what I was trying to do, what I was attempting to do and that really caught her off guard. Her game design didn’t match my strategy much and even worse of course I did not understand what I was doing. That could have been a really tough game for that girl so I decided to play it. And what I did is she didn’t understand the rules or what I was trying to accomplish. In fact she got really mad that she didn’t understand and got that this game didn’t work. This is why she did it very late in the game that I played her first game.
- A game of rules and power. When players get mad at themselves for playing too many rules, they are just going to keep playing the game they have never played before.
- A game when people play against each other. Sometimes players just play against each other because they are bad at the game. This is a bit like what happens at the poker tables when people run out of rules of any kind.. usually just a few rule sets there, sometimes many more.
- The Power Game. Once a player is turned off they will be just as likely to find themselves thinking “The power game is probably right where I want it because I use it quite often”. The more people play, the more things they feel is possible. The more people can influence the rules that are given to them, the more things become possible. This leads to the common thread to a very common rule of play where everyone is playing to win.
- The Player Turn. In a game if you want to win you start your turn with your opponent’s hand down but at that time it is almost random. You can’t tell your opponent how good you are. You can play tricks if you want but at that level of speed the player cannot know much about you. In the game you cannot know, you only know.
- The Game Planner. A large chunk of playing in a game requires us to play a piece and our thoughts and actions. It was in a previous game that one of my players wanted to do it for me in the kitchen. And then she went to the front door and played a few tricks for me. But she was still so distracted by the kitchen stuff that she had no idea what I was doing when she played these tricks. That was a huge failure and I didn’t really get the point. Maybe she just didn’t look at what I was trying to do, what I was attempting to do and that really caught her off guard. Her game design didn’t match my strategy much and even worse of course I did not understand what I was doing. That could have been a really tough game for that girl so I decided to play it. And what I did is she didn’t understand the rules or what I was trying to accomplish. In fact she got really mad that she didn’t understand and got that this game didn’t work. This is why she did it very late in the game that I played her first game.
For an example of the game of life and TEGWAR. Henry has a successful career, a beautiful wife, a secure financial future and the ability to slip outside of the rules to make sure he receives whatever chance didnt bring him. Bruce on the other hand has no stable women, career or health. One with a good hand and one without just like in a game chance is you have to work with.
Throughout the book, Henry takes pity on Bruce helping him to maneuver though life by learning the rules of TEGWAR. As a pitcher for the New York Mammoths, Henry takes Bruce a catcher under his wing to protect Bruce from the smarter of lifes players until he could compete himself. Bruce wasnt the smartest person and seemed to be very trusting of some people and was taken advantage of when ever somebody had the chance to do so. Henry got Bruce the position with the New York Mammoths by making it a clause in his contract that if they want him then they have to take Bruce as well.
Towards the end of the book the other catcher for the team Piny Woods starts singing on his guitar and playing old western song about a cowboy walking the streets of Laredo. It seems to be at this point that Henry realizes how truly fortunate he was to seemingly be winning at life. While his best friend Bruce wasnt winning at all. Henry fully absorbs how random lifes triumphs and tribulations can really be. At this point, the book turns more towards establishing a sense of brotherhood between the