Never Let Me Go 8

"It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've madeand there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to" Never Let Me Go pg 124

Ruth and Kathy yet again begin bickering. This is my shocked face. Because Ruth has once again began to pretend that she read Daniel Deronda, Kathy gets upset and snaps back on Ruth's television influenced mannerisms. Obviously, these are both very low blows. Kathy knew she shouldn't bring up Ruth's trying to fit in, but she was not about to let Ruth walk around like she knew everything. However, as soon as she brought up the controversial shoulder tap farewell, she knew she'd gone too far. The insult is compared to both a chess game, and a disaster, I assume disaster refers to natural disasters such as tornadoes. The mixed metaphor confused me because I was not really sure when the metaphor was over, but the two situations are so closely related that they almost blend into one. Just as Kathy sat back hoping Ruth hadn not really noticed her rude remark, a chess player hopes his opponent doesn't see his mistakes because in either situation, if the flaw is caught, mass chaos can and will break out. On a lighter note, I find it ironic that Ruth actually taught Kathy to play chess (incorrectly) at Hailsham.