“The Gift: How One Act of Kindness Changed a Life” and “The Game” both exemplify the element of surprise. However, in “The Gift”, the surprise is life-changing, while in “The Game,” it isn’t.
In “The Gift,” when the owner of a shirt-making company, Max Freed, offers to pay a poor, young man’s way through university, the man (Monty Hall) is surprised by Max’s generosity. In “The Game”, Eric is startled at the sight of the famous hockey player Johnny Bower’s unexpectedly aged appearance. He says that Bower’s face “looked like it had been made out of rubber, left out in the sun too long [and] while it was melting someone had come along with a sharp stick and drawn all these lines on it.” Eric expected Johnny Bower to disagree with Eric’s admiration of the Canadien’s goalie, yet on the contrary, Bower accepted Eric’s opinion. Similarly, Max Freed expects no recognition for his unforeseen generosity, even suggesting to the young man not to say from whom he received the large sum of money. The ending of “The Gift” is surprising to the reader when the author reveals that he, himself, is the butcher’s son. There is no such revelation to the reader in “The Game.”
While like its title would elude, the surprise generosity in “The Gift: How One Act of Kindness Changed a Life” is life-changing. On the contrary, while appearing colossal to little Eric, the surprises in “The Game” have very little impact upon the child’s life.
The main body paragraph could probably have been broken down into smaller units. It was sometimes difficult to follow your train of thought. For example, I can’t connect how Bower accepting Eric’s opinion, and Max Freed not wanting recognition are similar.
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