We kind of got a little more freedom than usual on this week's topic. We can pick any story that we have read up until now. Thinking back I always come back to Burning Chrome. I have not written about it yet, so I will just jump in. This week we have to do what's called a Close-Focus Reading. I am pretty much going to break down a section of Burning Chrome and analyze it word by word.
I have chosen a  paragraph early on in the story. "Chrome: her pretty childhood face," to "none of them at all reassuring." (Gibson 372) In this paragraph it gives a unique, chilling description of the title character. Who is Chrome? What is she all about? Why is she such a well known, important figure of society in this futuristic world? This is the first time in the story that we get to know who she really is.
"Chrome: her pretty childhood face smooth as steel, with eyes that would have been at home on the bottom of some deep Atlantic trench, cold gray eyes that lived under terrible pressure." She is described as having a pretty but childhood face. This conveys a sense of innocence about her. Pretty, therefore has power. I love how the author describes her face as smooth as steel. Steel? Chrome? A coincidence? I think not. At first glance one might not see her as a powerful figure, but as we see the story continue, we learn that this is quite the opposite. "They said she cooked her own cancers for people who crossed her, rococo custom variations that took years to kill you." This is another example of the innocent, but powerful force that Chrome projects. She may appear to be the girl next door, but she has an effect on people that takes a lasting toll that can take a man's life. Maybe this talent that she yields is what drew the mafia to her. They know what she is capable of, and to me it sounds like she could get anyone to do anything, which means money for the mafia. "They said a lot of things about Chrome, none of them reassuring." She doesn't really sound like someone you would want to take home to your parents does she? Absolutely nothing that is said about her is reassuring? Damn, that's cold. This perhaps foreshadows the motive of our main characters. Someone has to take out this demon woman and take her for all she is worth.
I really enjoyed the way this paragraph flowed, which is why I chose to focus on it for this assignment. At the point in the story, we don't know much about the title character. But after reading this, we get a good idea of who she is, what she is all about, and perhaps why someone would plot against her. This sets the tone for the remainder of the story, as we now have an emotional connection to the main characters mission and their plan to, "burn," Chrome."