The Winner Of The Preliminary Games Analysis

Olivia D’Addio Mr. Abrams

Girl on the Fridge DRAFT 2 pt 1 3.14.16

It’s 2016 and pop culture is turning America from a man’s world into a woman world. In today’s society, we are constantly concerned with the suppression of women from handling job pay to body standards. Of course, these concerns remain important, but sometimes it is forgotten that the term of equality is not just to raise women’s position of authority but to equalize men and women. While we continue to focus on empowering women, it is also worth considering the way men may handle the strains of gender roles and expectations placed on them. A study done in the United Kingdom in the year of 2013 shows that 56.1% of men committed suicide. This is interesting to note at as we look at the two realistic short

stories “Sidewalks” and “The Winner of the Preliminary Games” written by Etgar Keret.

Both reveal insight into the hidden realm of a man’s way of concealing every emotion that may seem to fall under the category of “unmanly” or “Sissyish”. The story “The Winner of the Preliminary games” talks about two friends getting drunk together as a sort of monthly ritual, they do this to help get emotion and stress out, as this is the only way they can express their feelings without being labeled womanly. The second story, “Sidewalks” talks about a man reminiscing on times with his old friend as the two wasted pals play a game against the sidewalk. Though both stories may seem to be about friends just getting drunk together, Keret is really showing us the physically painful compensation men go through in order to suppress their feeling to fit into a man’s world as well as the lengths, sometimes

mental men must go to to produce and hold on to intimate connections to each other.
In the short story “The Winner of Preliminary Games” men abuse themselves with alcohol in order to feel like they are permitted to show empathy towards one another. The first time it is suggested that the way the men are disguising the output of their feelings is with competition and alcohol, is in the title “The Winner of the Preliminary games.” This title suggests a common theme of masculinity: the importance placed on being the best out of all, being the number one successor. This drive to be the best may suggest that these men may feel like they have to abide by these standards to be the best in order to stray away from anything falling under the category of unmanly. Likewise, we see how in the beginning of the story the two main characters discuss ordinary things to help express their feelings and get things off their chest.Things like girls, jobs, and emotional challenges in their lives. All these subjects conform to a sense of masculinity. Even sitting with my male friends at the age of fifteen these are things they discuss daily. It is interesting to tune in on their conversations, a question I am often faced with when hearing these things is, “why is this necessary to always be one upping each other? You’re friends!” I believe the simple answer to this is just as women tend to show off to each other with items, men show each other off with accomplishments. Interestingly, Keret points out how the men lied about most of this stuff, just to show each other the best. The men’s need to lie to each other to prove their masculinity is interesting in that them lying to each other completely defeats the purpose of them talking to each other and getting their true feeling out. This could depict that difficult it is for the men to trust one another. The next thing worth noting in the story is the name of the boys’ test, “The four beer test”. In this test of theirs, the first beer is to be polished off silently, suggesting they mustn't say anything until they’re all drunk. Once the first beer is polished off they are permitted to discuss their feelings. It is even stated that Uzi typically ends up throwing up after the end of the night because the four beers are difficult for him. This game is a perfect metaphor for a test of masculinity. Though he gets sick it is interesting how Uzi is the one suggesting they order eight beers to make up from lost time. Etian is on Uzi’s side of drinking eight beers even though he probably knows they will both get sick. The need for both men to get their feelings out is so dire they are willing to disgorge their stomachs in order to relieve themselves of their built up emotion. Another small detail that is to be noted throughout the story is the olympic games playing in the background at the bar. Keret, by describing the events of the olympics. emphasizes a sense of competitiveness in the air.

When we take a look at the short story “Sidewalks” by Etgar Keret, the same theme of men needing to suppress their feelings in order to feel like “a real man” is shown in the first paragraph. The narrator opens by talking about his friend’s funeral, using vulgar language to show and pretend that he does not care. He says, “Fuck it. The date itself doesn't mean much to me. December 12th, the 12th day of the 12th month”. It is interesting to see that the narrator remembers many details about the death and the day of it. The narrator also explains that it is hard for him to go to the funeral and memorials “ with all those people staring at me, the firm hand clasps, the mother staring at me teary eyes asking when I was finishing my degree- I said fuck it.” With this it is clear to see that the narrator really does care and miss his friend, just as any other human would. It is also clear that the narrator feels almost ashamed to be seen upset or crying, so he plays it off with a shell of carelessness. Throughout the story the narrator uses humor often to mask the fact that this is actually quite a sad story. On the second to last page of the story in the third paragraph, the narrator almost glorifies the throwing up at the end of the night, making the event sound like a hilarious bonding experience for the two of them. Finally it is notable note that this entire story is written almost as an ode to his friend, talking about the good times his friend and him have had, things he misses about him, all written with compassion.
It is evident throughout these stories that the issues of men’s suppression can be noted in many ways. A CDC report shows that roughly 23% of men binge drink 5 times a month. This statistic is incredible to note as we can relate this to these two short stories. Just as in these stories, we can assume that men today truly do use binge drinking as a way to divulge their feelings. Some men feel forbidden to show emotion, a natural thing which should not be frowned upon. Just as women should be allowed to partake in any job, men should universally be allowed to show their feelings. Throughout this book Etgar Keret shows us inside on a man’s compensation and daily struggle, whether it’s physical pain, like vomiting in “The Winner of the Preliminary Games” or mental suffrage as seen in “Sidewalks” by the narrator's fears to be see crying, whatever it may be it can be taken away that men truly do face struggles as any other humans do.