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The Museum
Ramon's family's Gaming Machine—a slot machine that dispenses candy—serves several purposes throughout the novel. Matty's desire to have one for himself, as well as his jealousy of Ramon, casts the Gaming Machine as an object that illustrates how appealing new, better, more exciting items are for everyone, whether they're morally corrupt like Mentor becomes, or are the good-hearted hero of the novel, like Matty. In other words, the Gaming Machine becomes representative of the dangerous consumer culture enabled by the Trade Mart, in which these exciting new items are purchased in exchange for positive qualities like kindness and compassion. Once Matty becomes fully aware of this, he begins to see the Gaming Machine as representative of a greater evil in Village, one that prioritizes objects over people. At this point, Matty's jealousy disappears, suggesting that for someone who still possesses their full quota of kindness, compassion, and belief in the common good, the Trade Mart, the Gaming Machine, and the consumer culture that they represent are abhorrent and in direct opposition to the utopian vision of Village.
The Gaming Machine Quotes in Messenger
The Messenger quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Gaming Machine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter Three
Quotes
"And so we would give up—or maybe even trade away—reading, and music, in exchange for the extreme excitement of pulling a handle and watching sourballs spit forth from a mechanical device?" he asked.
Put that way, Matty thought, the Gaming Machine didn't actually seem such a good trade. "Well," he said, "it's fun."
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Chapter Seven
Quotes
"Well," said Matty slowly, "when she was leaving, walking and talking with the other women, and her husband behind trying to keep up, she whirled around suddenly and scolded him for being slow."
"Slow? But he's all twisted. He can't walk any other way," the blind man said in surprise.
"I know. But she made a sneering face at him and she imitated his way of walking. She made fun of him. It was only for a second, though."
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The Gaming Machine Symbol Timeline in Messenger
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Gaming Machine appears in Messenger. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter One
...for supper, and Matty thinks that Ramon's homeplace is fun—his parents recently traded for a Gaming Machine , which has a handle that makes three wheels spin. If the wheels all stop...
(full context)
Chapter Two
...on a boulder to fish. Annoyed and a little jealous when Ramon brings up the Gaming Machine again, Matty thinks that maybe Ramon's true name will be Gloater or Bragger. The narrator...
(full context)
Chapter Three
That evening, Matty comments that if he and Seer had a Gaming Machine , they'd never be bored in the evenings. Seer laughs and says that their evenings,...
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...candy, but Seer points out that Ramon's parents probably traded something very valuable for the Gaming Machine . As they sit down for dinner, Matty admits that Ramon doesn't even know what...
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Chapter Four
...says that he stops by often, and doesn't see anything different there—Mentor doesn't have a Gaming Machine . Seer doesn't laugh. He says that this is about more than Gaming Machines.
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Chapter Six
...trading is secretive. Matty says that he asked Ramon what his parents traded for the Gaming Machine , but Ramon didn't know and said his mother acted like she had something to...
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Chapter Seven
...away, and Matty answers that some people were given delivery times. One woman got a Gaming Machine , and Matty makes one final plea for a Gaming Machine of his own. Seer...
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Chapter Eight
...they both changed. Matty then brings up Trade Mart. He says that people are getting Gaming Machines , which makes Leader make a disdainful face. Carefully, Matty says that people like Mentor...
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