Thursday, June 1, 2017

Response Blog #6

The story is very nice and all, but there is one thing that keeps tripping me up. Alberto has one key phrase that he uses to dismiss all the outrageous ongoings: “A bagatelle”. This really caught my attention because it is used so many times, and I feel that there is an underlying message here. A bagatelle has many definitions, so we can go through them one by one. First, a bagatelle is a game in which small balls are hit and then allowed to roll down a sloping board on which there are holes, each numbered with the score achieved if a ball goes into it, with pins acting as obstructions. I’m imagining that this game is something similar to a cross between bowling and shuffleboard. In this case, Sophie and Alberto are the balls, and the Major is throwing them. All the chaos and random events are the pins that obstruct the ball. Next, a bagatelle is also a thing of little importance or a very easy task. This is probably what Alberto actually means, as these distractions are an easy task for the Major. They take very little effort on his behalf. Most commonly, a bagatelle means a trifle. This is almost the same as the last definition, as these actions are a mere trifle for the Major. Finally, there is the definition that my mind immediately jumped to. I play piano, so I recognized the word bagatelle as a musical piece. A bagatelle is a short literary or musical piece in light style. I’ve played a handful of bagatelles, and they have very unique characteristics. I hope this is what the author intended, as Sophie’s World can be described as a bagatelle, and the way the characters act is similar to that of an actual bagatelle. At any rate, this whole blog is but a bagatelle.

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