Elizabeth Williams, narrative criticism of McPhee
MONOPOLY’S APPEAL
Each day we as readers are presented with innumerable options. Newspapers, pamphlets, signs, magazines, and books cry-out to be read. They display flashy covers and bold titles in an attempt to win our attention over the rest, but too often the content of those pieces of writing that do succeed in capturing our attention leaves much to be desired. Rhetoric bogged down with difficult language and dry subject matter fails to satisfy the average reader. Only by creating works that will hold a reader’s attention can a writer accomplish his or her purposes, whatever they may be. So, what are some steps writers can take to construct enjoyable and easy to read rhetorical narratives?
The narrative I will be analyzing in order to answer this question is a piece of rhetoric by John McPhee entitled "In Search of Marvin Gardens." This essay is a part of the larger work, Pieces of the Frame, published in 1975. McPhee’s composition skillfully guides his audience through two entwined but distinct narratives, providing them with a truly enjoyable reading experience, while at the same time subjecting them to a history lesson.
In order to efficiently examine McPhee’s writing and to answer my research question I have chosen to employ the methods of narrative criticism, as McPhee’s essay is made-up of two strong narratives. I will begin by discussing in brief his use of eight dimensions of narrative, setting, characters, narrator, events, temporal relations, causal relations, audience, and theme. In this element of the analysis, I will separate the two narratives within McPhee’s writing and direct my attention to each in turn. Next, I will
Elizabeth Williams 1 Ewald 105H12

focus on McPhee’s effective utilization of three of these dimensions, narrator, setting, and theme within the two narratives to create an enjoyable and easy to read essay.
Finally, I will show how writers of rhetorical narrative can apply the methods drawn from
McPhee’s use of these three dimensions, in order to build more appealing reading material.
Because McPhee’s essay is actually made-up of two distinct narratives, an effective analysis of the writing must address both. The first of these narratives involves a
Monopoly tournament, the international singles championship of the world to be exact.
Its physical setting is not distinct, and it includes only two major characters, the narrator and his opponent. This first narrative is constructed around the seven games of Monopoly in the tournament, and its major events, therefore, are game related, buying property, building hotels, and winning games, for example. These events, apart from the narrator’s occasional reference to past games, are presented chronologically and all take place within the context of the tournament. Causal relationships are also within the context of the Monopoly play, luck causes a win or a loss or a player’s situation within the game.
The audience this narrative is directed toward is unclear and unimportant. The narrator may be relating the events only for himself; in fact, the reader almost feels as if they are on the outside and looking in on the games and the narrator’s thoughts. The theme of this part of McPhee’s work is not extremely important; this Monopoly tournament narrative serves only as a framework for the more essential content of the piece, the other narrative.
This second narrative paints a vivid picture of an Atlantic City past and present.
Its setting jumps from one place to another within the city. Its important characters
Elizabeth Williams 2 Ewald 105H12

include R. B. Osborne, the founder of Atlantic City; Charles B. Darrow, the inventor of
Monopoly; and Colonel Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, a wealthy former inhabitant of the city. However, intermixed with these key men are the many nameless inhabitants of
Atlantic City past and present, and it is this group of people that gives the narrative its flavor. The narrator in this second narrative seems to float between roles as an observer of the action, provider of historic information and participant in the events. These events are everyday happenings within Atlantic City. They include the movement of a pack of dogs, a convict’s release from the jail, a high school basketball game, a new hotel employee learning the business from her superior, and a group of men hitting on a young woman in the street. They occur over a period of many years, from Osborne’s first idea for Atlantic City to its present state of decay, and aren’t represented in any type of chronological order, but rather are related as in a stream of memories, mixed and meandering. The main cause and effect relationship seen in this part of McPhee’s essay is time’s effect on the once grand streets of Atlantic City. The audience is once again an inactive observer of the events the narrator describes; the reader is not an important focus of McPhee’s writing. His theme, however, is of major significance. Through his descriptive narrative McPhee tells the colorful history of Atlantic City and alludes to
Marvin Gardens, a serene suburb of the crumbling city, as the hidden paradise within the wasteland.
So how do McPhee’s accounts of these two narratives so effectively satisfy his audience? One major way in which McPhee makes this piece of rhetoric enjoyable is his utilization of the narrator. McPhee’s narrator, as previously stated, takes-on various roles throughout the writing. His change of part, however, is unobtrusive; in fact, the reader
Elizabeth Williams 3 Ewald 105H12

hardly notices. In addition, within this free change of roles the narrator is able to provide vivid descriptions of his present as well as pertinent and interesting background information. Within these descriptions, McPhee’s narrator very successfully utilizes a language that is not elevated, a reader of average intelligence has no trouble understanding the text and drawing meaning from it. In these ways, McPhee effectively makes use of his narrator.
Another important ingredient in McPhee’s recipe for easy and enjoyable to read narrative is his usage of setting. Setting is an extremely pertinent dimension of the writing’s second narrative. McPhee employs large pieces of text with the in-depth description of the streets of Atlantic City. He includes such details as weeds growing through cracks in a sidewalk, a woman’s distinct hairstyle and the color of her shirt, the content of long forgotten and peeling posters, the sound of shattered glass crunching under the narrator’s feet, and the presence of stray dogs roaming the streets. The rich picture that McPhee paints through his setting descriptions make his readers feel like they are there in the midst of the events, seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling as the story progresses. It is through his vivid setting descriptions that McPhee lures his readers in.
The final component influencing the readablity of McPhee’s writing that I want to highlight is the narrative dimension of theme. Once again, I want to focus on the second narrative in the essay. By tying together McPhee’s narrator’s bits of historical insight about Atlantic City’s beginnings and early years and the moods extracted from his rich settings a reader can easily gather a profound thematic sense of Atlantic City’s turn-ofthe-century sumptuousness and gradual decline to its present state of decay. And in his final few pages McPhee sends a very clear and important message through the
Elizabeth Williams 4 Ewald 105H12

metaphoric search for Marvin Gardens; the paradise within the harshness is hidden, but within reach. This unmistakable presentation of the theme of his narrative greatly increases McPhee’s audience’s satisfaction in reading piece.
What steps can writers take to create enjoyable and easy to read rhetorical narratives like John McPhee’s “In Search of Marvin Gardens”? Step one is the creation of an effective narrator who provides relevant and interesting information inconspicuously and in easy to understand language. Step two is the construction of vivid settings that draw in a writer’s audience and provide a feeling of immersion in the narrative as events unfold. A third and final step is the clear portrayal of central theme, not confused by overuse of metaphor or inclusion of too many insignificant events. By following these three simple steps, writers of rhetorical narrative can go beyond surface glitz used to attract readers and provide quality material that will hold their attention.
Elizabeth Williams 5 Ewald 105H12