A study on Clive Barker part 34, The Damnation Game: Providence

By OJB · Jan 25, 2018 ·
  1. Welcome to my study on Clive Barker. Today, we will be looking at Chapter 1 of the Damnation Game, Providence.

    "After serving six years of his sentence at Wandsworth, Marty Strauss was used to waiting. He waited to wash and shave himself every morning; he waited to eat, he waited to defecate; he waited for freedom." - The opening of Scene 5, Clive Barker's The Damnation Game.

    In the opening sentence (which is beautifully crafted by the way) we meet the hero of the story, Marty Strauss.

    Marty is a prisoner who is in prison for some crime he committed while trying to pay back some gambling debts (It is hinted at being theft related.) The opening chapter has Marty being summoned to a private meeting by the Warden. At this meeting, Marty meets Mr. Toy.

    Mr. Toy works for a man by the name of Joseph Whitehead, a rich businessman, and is looking for a prisoner to act as Mr. Whitehead's personal bodyguard. At first, Marty is not that interested in the job (which would provide him with an early release) but after some consideration, Marty decides he wants the job.

    Mr. Toy finishes the interview and will let Marty know of his decision.

    While Marty waits a few days to find out if he got the job or not, Marty's wife Charmaine comes to visit. Charmaine wants to get a divorce and wants to know how they should split the money between the two. Marty tells Charmaine to keep everything and apologizes for the hurt he has caused her due to his imprisonment.

    About 2 weeks later, the warden summons Marty and tells him that he's got the job, and will be released from prison in a few days.

    The night before his release, Marty experiences a bizarre dream but doesn't think much of it.

    The next day, Mr. Toy and Luther, a limo driver, pick up Marty.

    On the way, they come across a car accident that has a fatality. To match the context of the scene, Barker uses this brilliant simile.

    'The procession of cars slowed, like a line of mourners pausing to glance into a coffin." -Damnation Game, scene 9.

    As the group drives by, Marty sees a woman madly clapping at the scene of her own accident.

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    There are 2 things I took note of in this chapter.

    1. The Motif of being a Gambler and Thief becomes apparent in this chapter. I think Motifs (A repeating image, phrase, or idea) are a cool concept more writers should use.

    2. I really like Barker's use of a simile at the end of the chapter. I noticed that, Grammatically, an Absolute phrase follows the 'like' and I might start playing around with this construction in my own writing.

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    This concludes my look at chapter 1 for The Damnation Game.

    If you have a thought or a question, please leave a like or comment!

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