Image Study

This picture is probably the most significant out of the whole novel. In the beginning of the novel, the death of “Emanuel Lasker”, who ends up actually being Mendel Shpilman, is seen as only a simple murder of this random guy. When Landsman investigates the crime scene he is presented with many different clues as to who this man was and how he had died. The chess board in the room, which seems to be a minor detail, ends up being one of the most significant clues leading Landsman to solving not only this case, but finding out a lot about his own self throughout the process.




This picture is very significant because although Sitka, Alaska is in fact the setting of the book, it plays a huge roll in plot of the novel. The novel takes place in 2007, but after World War II Sitka, rather than the realistic Israel, becomes the escape for the Jews after the Holocaust. Facing a conflict that involves these people finally converting to Alaskan culture or getting forced out of this place they had been “temporarily” living in for sixty years, this Alaskan Jewish community has nowhere left to go and has no idea what is in store ahead of them.




This picture basically represents the life that Landsman has been living for the past few years after his break up with his life. He is so mentally weak he basically shrivels up and lives in Hotel Zamenhof which is depicted as a cheap beaten down hotel. Throughout the novel Landsman keeps coming back to this decrepit place and living this life of solitude without caring at all about the quality of his life. This reoccurring image in the novel constantly reminds the reader how mentally and physically poor Landsman is to call this hotel his “home”.




Not only is chess one of the major symbols in the novel it is a reoccurring image that constantly plays in Landsman’s mind. After seeing the crime scene and analyzing the chess setup in the room he goes to chess clubs i.e. the Einstein Chess Club to talk to some of the locals to see if they knew anything about this man. When they eventually find out the real Identity of the victim, Mendel Shpilman, Landsman uncovers how much chess contributed to his life. Chess was basically what Shpliman lived and “died” for as he grew up as a chess prodigy. The image of chess seems to be one of the most important images contributing to the plot and mystery of the murder.