The conflicts in Shoeless Joe, by W.P Kinsella are what makes the book appealing, especially discovering how the characters deal and resolve the conflicts. Ray Kinsella, the main Character, faces many conflicts. Ray lives in Iowa with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karen. He is a farmer, and a huge baseball fanatic. Ray struggles to overcome conflicts, not only with himself but with society and person. Eventually, he is able to solve the problems. He has to deal with his wife's brother, himself, and J.D Salinger. One of the main conflicts Ray comes across is when he hears a voice in the corn field while he was working. The voice whispered to Ray, “If you build it, he will come”(Kinsella 32). Ray was puzzled on what the message meant. What …show more content…
was he supposed to build and Who was going to come? Until one day it came to him, Ray knew what he had to build, and who was going to come; It was a baseball field. The conflict he ran into however, was that building the baseball field would cause him to struggle for money. Ray was stuck between building his dream, or keeping the farm land to pay his mortgage. After contemplating it, Ray decides to build the field. Ray knows that he has to build this field despite the fact that he knew mortgage may pull him down, and he could lose the farm all together. Ray struggled to follow the voice or pay mortgage. Ray and Annie began to struggle for money after the field was built. Annie’s brother, Mark, thought Ray was crazy, and he wanted to buy the farm from him. Ray loved the farm, and could never let it go. Mark couldn't care less though. Even Annie’s own family think Ray is crazy, “They all hope Mark will be successful in buying my farm”(27). Mark is determined to take the farm, however, Ray’s love and passion for the field and his family would never let him sell the farm no matter the price. Ray was eventually able to pay for the mortgage with the money from the visitors that paid to come see the field. Another conflict Ray found himself in, was when he tried to take J.D Salinger to a baseball game.
After hearing the second voice, "ease his pain",Ray assumes that the voice is referring only to Shoeless Joe Jackson, and he builds only a left field because Shoeless Joe was a left fielder. He believes that this will “ease the pain” of Shoeless Joe, who was banned for life by Commissioner from the sport that had brought him so much happiness. Ray later discovers that is was about J.D Salinger and makes his way to Salinger's house. Once Ray arrived, he talked to J.D, and told him that he was taking him to a baseball game. Salinger was surprised, and not knowing this man, thinks Ray is a lunatic. Salinger thinks Ray is kidnapping him, and that he may be crazy, Going to a baseball game with a stranger was not on J.D's list of things to do, but he goes anyway for one reason only, "because you [Ray] seemed so hyper. I was afraid that if I ran, you might shoot up the whole side of the mountain"(63). Ray was happy that he finally convince J.D to go to the game with him. He was finally getting somewhere. Despite all the rough patches Ray runs into on his journey, and his dream, he was successful in dealing with each conflict. Ray struggles to overcome conflicts, not only with himself but with society and person. In the end everything works out for Ray and he gets to build a baseball field to fulfill his unfulfilled dreams of the
past.
Jack is the biggest character in this book. Jack is a 12-year-old boy that is very good at baseball and very passionate about it as well. He lives in a fairly big city in New York called, Walton. His family has lived there his whole life and the baseball tradition kept on. His father played for the same baseball team that jack is playing for when he was a young kid. Jack was described in the book as big tall, average build, blonde hair, and a good head on his shoulders. Jack’s personality wasn’t really noticeable until later in the book. At the beginning of the book he was just an average kid that loved to play baseball. He had his normal friends that he hung out with every day and an older brother that he really looked up to. Jack loved his friends and his family just as much as he loved baseball. Then one day when jack got home his mother and father were crying and when he asked why they were crying they said that his brother had died is a tragic motorcycle accident. This tore Jack up inside more than anyone would have ever thought. As a result of his brother’s death he quit baseball and shunned some of his friends. When he did this he come to get really close to a girl that he started hanging out with. Her name was Cassie and she was the reason he was able to hold it all
Bill Meissner is an author who enjoys writing stories about baseball that include nothing about baseball. In his stories there are many hidden messages which the reader tries to decipher and figure out the theme. Meissner uses baseball as his main attraction to catch the reader’s eye. Bill ties the character to baseball so he could demonstrate symbolism, which could help discover the theme of the story. In all his stories he establishes a lesson in which the character will uncover throughout the journey. The character in this story acts as a “weak” (42) human being which triumphs at the end by becoming the total opposite. In the story “Midgets, Jujubes, and Beans”, Bill Meissner expresses the theme of how a person should never lose hope on something they love by using a boy named Martin experiencing various challenges and in the end coming out on top.
“If you build it, he will come” (Kinsella 1). These words of an announcer jump start a struggle for Ray Kinsella to ease the tragic life of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Ray hears a voice of an announcer which leads him to build a baseball field that brings Shoeless Joe Jackson onto the field. However, this field puts his family on the verge of bankruptcy which is just one of the struggles Ray Kinsella is presented in his life. Shoeless Joe Jackson is no stranger to having no money, as he was only making a measly $1.25 as a kid struggling to support his family. He never attended school and was illiterate throughout his entire life. The struggle is completely the same with Ray Kinsella growing up, as he is forced into baseball, which ultimately makes him run away from home. Ray’s hate is Joes love. Joe loves baseball and makes it to the major leagues, but it doesn’t last. Joe’s career is cut short due to the fact he is accused of throwing the World Series, and banned from baseball forever. Rays’s father would have loved it if his son made it to the major leagues because he thought Ray had the potential and talent. However, his only dream was simple, he wanted to play a game of catch with his son, unfortunately, he passed away and he never got to see his son after he ran away. Shoeless Joe Jackson’s death wasn’t any better, as he died guilty of throwing the World Series which was the biggest sports tragedy to date. Tragedies are not uncommon phenomena, Ray Kinsella and Shoeless Joe Jackson have the unfortunate luck to go through a struggle fulfilled and uphill battle in what is suppose to be a wonderful thing, life.
Students should read this book in high school to learn how to take a negative situation and make it positive. Hutch is extremely jealous of Darryl because he knows that Darryl is a better baseball player, but he also knows that if he wants his team to win the championship, then he needs to find a way to get along with him. This book does appeal to the interest of most teenage students. Most teenagers have played some type of sport and have had to find a way to deal with being on a team with competition. A team that is not able to work together will not win together. It is important for teammates to suppo...
The first person narrative is moving.” I agree with both sources because after reading Baseball Saved Us I was blown away with the writing style and the illustration. It is a heart-felt story and leaves readers touched after the insight of what was a serious historical event. The book drove me to do extra research to get an understanding of what life was possibly like for those
Towards the end of the film, the boys are trying to get back Small’s stepfather’s baseball, which has been accidentally hit into the monster’s territory. As the other boys are too afraid of getting hurt, Benny decides to do the deed after being encouraged by his idol’s, Babe Ruth’s, spirit. In the end, Benny manages to retrieve the ball and overcome the monster. After everything, they find out that the monster is just a lonely dog named Hercules. Before getting the ball, Benny has doubts about how he can do it, but ultimately decides to do so. This shows that school-age children are willing to take risks and try to overcome challenges. This is important for a child of this age because it builds confidence and character to the child. By trying new things, middle childhood children learn about the world around them and makes them realize what they can and cannot
build it, he will come". Ray soon finds out that "it" is a baseball field and "he" is Rays
...se, watching Moreno touch home plate is like the narrator being welcomed into the arms of the “brown people” (30). Because of his difficult home life, the narrator finds comfort and love in the midst of baseball and his Mexican culture.
2. The novel, The Brothers K, enables the reader to understand a child’s idolization of a given sport, in this case, baseball.
A message that really explains the movie in a sentence is every human is not perfect and each human has their own personal struggles that they will try to overcome. Boobie Miles thought he was perfect and he actually put a curse on himself and got injured right at the beginning.The primary theme in the film is the Underdogs don’t always win. We thought because they were underdogs they were going to win but they ended up losing. They still did put up a great fight. Some other themes are the impact of adults’ hopes and goals lived vicariously through their children. The most important theme of the novel involves the impact of adults’ hopes and goals lived vicariously through their children. The people of Odessa place an unmistaken spell on the shoulders of their sons to be champions every year so that the adults can take the triumph as their own. The result is that their children can never leave their triumphs and defeats of that short time behind. It follows them no matter what they make of their lives, and it is unfair that they must do so. The last important theme is that of misplaced priorities. The people of Odessa wouldn’t accept the fact that their obsession with football was impacting on the educational success of their children. Their need to have a winning season affected class time, homework, tests, and even whether school
Before the Dodger manager scouted Jackie, he had to ask Jackie to endure racism during the game and in his team. And he decided to just ignore the insult. And last, he became the players for the Dodgers. He was the only African American baseball player in Major League. Because he was black, most of the teammates were not supportive. After the spring training, Jackie advances to the Dodgers. Because of the racism, most of the team member signs that refuse to play baseball with Jackie, but Leo Durocher, manager, insist Jackie will play in the main team. But when manager suspended, New manager(Burt Shotton) came. During the game of Philadelphia phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, Ben Chapman jeered Jackie, caused him to break his bat(because of anger). But with Rickey’s encouragement, he played well during that game. When the game was ended, the action of Chapman created the bad press to the team, causing him to pose with him (for newspaper and magazine). After his teammates Pee Wee Reese, understood the pressure that Jackie’s facing, they had match with Pittsburgh pirates. Rickey hit a homerun against the pitcher(Fritz Ostermueller), who hit him in the head. This Home run boost their team to the world series. However, they lost to New
In this movie, the main character Ray Kinsella shows his faith in what he believes he should do. In the beginning of the movie Roy hears a voice from the corn saying, “If you build it he will come.” At this point Roy has no idea who is talking to him or what about. He tells his wife Annie and his young daughter Karen. He eventually realizes that the voices are telling him to build a baseball field so “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and his teammates can play ball. Our group thought that the voices are coming from Ray’s conscience. We thought the message the voice is trying to get across is that if he builds the baseball field his father will come. We thought this because throughout the movie Ray discusses his relationship with his father and how it wasn’t the greatest. Another example of why we thought the voice was his conscience is when the voice says, “Ease his Pain.” Ray thought that he should have eased the writer Terence Mann’s pain, but we thought the voice was saying ease the pain from the relationship with his father. The Kinsella family showed great faith throughout the movie, but Ray definitely proved his the best. By listening to the voices, he built an expensive baseball field, traveled across the country with Terence Mann to find Archibald Graham. He could have quit at any time and just forgot about the voices, but he continued to stay strong to his faith and follow his dreams. Though Ray did end up realizing why he was being told to do these things, his faith and willpower was tested throughout the movie.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history. The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and...
There is a scene in this movie where the coach takes the team on a long run in the middle of the night. They end up at the break of dawn at a cemetery. The coach tells the young men of the battle that was fought on that ground. He told of the blood shed on those grounds that turned the whole area red. This can help many people that want to make a difference in this world. They had to stand up for their new knowledge to people that they love and trust.
The movie being analyzed is the Sandlot. The relationship between the two main characters is a friendship, which begins with one boy who is desperate for friends and another who is searching for The Sandlot’s last teammate. The friendship between Benny and Small’s is an accurate depiction of the development of friendship in real life. In the movie, Scotty Smalls (Smalls) moves to a new neighborhood. One of his new neighbors happens to be the best baseball player in the neighborhood, Benny, who eventually teaches Smalls how to catch and throw so that the team has a ninth player. What begins as filling a baseball position eventually leads to a strong bond between the two main characters. Throughout the summer, the team plays baseball, goes swimming, plays baseball, goes to the fair, and plays baseball. A dog known as “The Beast” lives behind the fence of The Sandlot. The Beast is said to have eaten every baseball and person that has ever been on the other side of that fence, so when the boys hit Small’s stepfather’s signed baseball over the fence, they have to come together to retrieve the baseball. In the movie The Sandlot, directed by David M. Evans, the development of the friendship between Scott Smalls and Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez is conveyed through their communication. The Sandlot shows the progression of a friendship and the importance of communication to help a friendship flourish.