Gamesmanship as a Path to Future Success

As the main characters of the novel sit on the precipice of adulthood, games and gamesmanship represent a specific path forward in their lives, a path to success by way of long-term planning, strategy and material accumulation. Jisun, Sunam, and Namin, while each presented with this path in different ways, ultimately reject the notion of playing life like a game. Jisun's father, Ahn Kiyu, is the strongest advocate for this path in life. He teaches Jisun from a young age that, "people don't get rich by accident... it takes 'long-term' planning" (60). He also demonstrates his ability to see moves into the future in his meeting with Sunam, when he posits that Jisun will lead his company with "the right circumstances" and "the right influences" (276). Even though Jisun learns these lessons from a young age, she chooses only to employ gamesmanship...