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The Chess Queen Enigma

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In Colleen Gleason’s The Chess Queen Enigma, the quote listed above helps to illustrate an insight to the conflict in the plot of the story that the narrator, Avermina Holmes, is possibly facing. The Ankh appearing in Miss Holmes’s dream helps show the opposing force. Holmes assumes the Ankh is the cause of problematic events that occur across London, such as the grotesque bite marks on three patients and the assault on the princess of Betrovia. The dream attempts to tell that the Ankh is continuing her evil deeds and getting closer to finding the chess queen. After every successful progression, she taunts, “Checkmate...checkmate... checkmate...” (Gleason 109). Similarly, Miss Holmes uses symbolism when calling her enemy the Ankh. An ankh is …show more content…

The strong description and powerful use of linguistic phrases allows me to visualize the dream occurring in the narrator’s mind with the wicked flames enclosing the battle scene and hear the taunting whispers of her enemy. I panic realizing that it is insurmountable for her to escape and can only battle against her enemy in games of chess, which she continues to lose. The strong description of the trap faced by the main character also causes a strong emotional feeling in me making me feel nervous, excited, agitated, repugnance toward the antagonist, and so interested that I was unable to stop reading through the author’s suspenseful inclusion of the fate of Miss Holmes. The appearance of the Ankh in Avermina’s dream after seeing the patients bitten by vampires causes me to agree with the purpose of the dream because many people in the world choose to avoid conquering and facing their fears or enemies due to horrendous experiences or are self-assumed that they are indomitable. These fears lurk unvanquished inside them and continue to haunt or torture them. These people would allow fear to control their lives, preventing them to make important decisions. In addition, the quote reminds me of my nightmares and how I feared both real and imagined danger and evil from previous experiences or beliefs. This fear prevented me from making major and crucial decisions

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