Not an Easy Win

The bildungsroman is a literary work, often referred to as a genre, that explores a character’s personal growth and development through adulthood. While that development is physical, as time passes, it is also mental, moral, and psychological. The term comes from the German words bildung, which means “education,” and roman, meaning “novel.”

The genre is rooted in folktales that tell stories of the youngest child in a family leaving home to seek money or some form of aid for their family and then returning home having learned about the world. Today, bildungsroman novels still typically follow a similar pattern, with “a loss or a tragedy that disturbs the main character emotionally” and them “leav[ing] on a journey to fill that vacuum” (“Bildungsroman.” Literary Devices). In Not an Easy Win, the inciting action is Lawrence’s expulsion from school, leaving him feeling lost, bored, and useless as his Granny threatens that “a man that don’t work don’t eat” (12). As he wanders the town, he ends up finding Mr. Dennis, a neighbor who takes him on a “journey” to the local rec center. There, Lawrence embarks on his emotional journey, meeting other young Black children, learning to play chess, and understanding more about his emotions.

Additionally, a bildungsroman depicts one or more conflicts, which allows the characters to understand more about the society they live in. These conflicts allow the main character to learn “the values of society,” ultimately discovering how to fit into that society “gradually and with difficulty” (“Bildungsroman”). For Lawrence, the initial conflict is between him and his school and, by extension, his mother and grandmother. When his school expels Lawrence, he is adamant that none of the fights he was involved in were his fault, arguing with Ma about how unfair the school was to him. He is convinced that “everyone” sees him as “the problem,” thereby establishing his conflict with society and a feeling of not belonging.

After a character’s journey in a bildungsroman, they typically discover how to fit into society, growing emotionally and learning how to adapt. As Lawrence works at the rec center, he initially does not fit in, fighting with Deuce and largely ignoring all the other children. However, as he learns that he has much in common with these children—surrounded by all Black children instead of the all-white school he was at previously—Lawrence discovers how to take responsibility for his actions. Through learning chess, he learns the value of thinking about each “move” and the decisions he makes instead of reacting angrily and using fighting to deal with his problems. When Lawrence wins his chess match, he realizes that he “[i]s more than the kid who moved around a lot” and “more than the troublemaker who got into fights” (238). This recognition and the change within Lawrence complete his journey of personal growth and maturity as he learns to value his friends, family, and intelligence.