Who Is Roy Hobbs Responsible For His Own Downfall

In many different time periods throughout history, authors, artists, and thinkers have analyzed the behavior of human beings depending on their environment. They have attempted to determine reasons for their actions, whether they be rejecting traditional values, honoring a certain person or thing, or working towards a specific goal. These ideas became cultivated by artistic and literary movements such as modernism, romanticism, and realism. While some people thrived during these eras, others suffered greatly. In Bernard Malamud’s 1950s novel, The Natural, protagonist Roy Hobbs’ suffering is self-inflicted because he is arrogant, misled by his ambitions, and unable to learn from his mistakes.

Arrogance is one of the key factors that contributes

to Roy’s suffering. The hardships he faces are mostly a result of his negative qualities and poor decisions, which can lead the reader to infer that he deserves them as a punishment. Despite all that he goes through in the novel, Roy remains unchanged in most ways. He is never humbled by his circumstances; he is still the same arrogant baseball player who wants to “break every record in the book for throwing and hitting” (Malamud 26). This excessive pride can be identified as hubris, a common theme in Greek mythology among the stories of greek gods. Many critics compare Roy to historical, biblical, and mythical characters whose hubris leads to their downfall. This is because Roy’s desires and ambitions are characterized by his overbearing self-confidence. One critic claims that it is in fact his “hubris that leads Harriet to shoot Hobbs.” (Constantakis) Many people are repulsed by a prideful nature like Roy’s, so this very example supports the idea that his arrogance leads to his suffering. Perhaps Harriet believed shooting Roy was justified because of his arrogance, or she just became so fed up with it that she wanted to teach him a lesson. The point Malamud is trying to make is that Roy can be compared to a tragic hero in Greek mythology; there is ultimately a flaw in the protagonist that leads to his or her demise. In a conversation with Iris Lemon, Roy confesses that after being shot, he “lost [his] confidence and everything [he] did flopped,” which delayed his major league debut fifteen years (Malamud 151). This is evidence of the mental suffering he endures along with the physical pain of being shot. However, upon resuming his career at age 34, he returns to his old ways and acts arrogant, with continuous ambitions to “be the greatest there ever was in the game” (Malamud 108). Such ambitions are not easily attainable, especially at an age disadvantage now, so Roy is essentially asking to be disappointed. This sense of disillusionment is another way can Roy’s situation be seen as a tragic failure; in his case, the flaw is his pride. Rather than being humbled by the incident, Roy resumes his career with the same immature arrogance he possessed when he first started. Therefore, he fails to realize that it was his very arrogance that caused most of his mental suffering.
Roy Hobbs is misled by his ambitions, which is one of the reasons for his downfall.

His suffering is caused by his own thoughts and actions. Henry David Thoreau states in his novel Walden, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after” (Thoreau). This insightful metaphor translates to the idea that many people strive after things that do not satisfy them in the end. Bernard Malamud presents this very idea in The Natural, in which Roy Hobbs desires fame, wealth, and love, but upon gaining these things, they do not fulfill him. This idea is reflected throughout the entire novel as Roy’s misleading ambitions result in disappointment and essentially, suffering. For example, Roy depends on his fans to make him feel valuable in his career. He searches for their approval but it cannot satisfy him at all times. When Roy goes through the slump, his depression is mainly caused by the fact that his fans have lost faith in him rather than because he is letting his teammates down. When he sees the woman standing out amongst the crowd, Iris Lemon, he gains a sense of confidence from her support, which shows that he depends on his fans to bring him happiness. Roy measures his success and worth on the support of his fans, who are not a steady foundation in his life. Therefore, by striving after fame and recognition in this way, Roy is setting himself up for disappointment. Roy is so focused on the destination that he loses sight of the journey.

This is common in today’s society because people are often more concerned with the end goal than how to get there, which is significantly more important. Roy is so blinded by his ambitions that he does not even take time to enjoy the activity of baseball itself. Furthermore, Roy is oblivious to the fact that his achievements do not determine the quality of his life. He is searching for fulfillment in fame, wealth, and women rather than living a life that actually matters. Fulfillment and happiness are not found in the outside world; they are found within. Roy Hobbs does not understand this; consequently, he suffers because he is filling his life with empty satisfaction.
Roy’s suffering is also caused by the fact that he does not learn from his mistakes. When he was just nineteen years old and beginning his professional baseball career, he was shot by a woman whom he thought loved him. Fifteen years later, he becomes infatuated with a girl who shares the same qualities. Her name is Memo Paris, and she is the niece of Roy’s baseball coach. Memo flirts with Roy and leads him into believing she loves him, but in reality, she is just attracted to his wealth. Memo is manipulative and uses men to get what she desires. At first Roy is blinded by this; he cannot help but be in love with her and sacrifices everything with hopes of having a life with her. This situation is very similar to that of Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby desires so badly to be with Daisy, that he does everything in his power to win her over. In both cases, both men are disillusioned by the fact that the woman they love does not reciprocate the same feelings. Roy becomes aware that Memo is full of greed and deceit, but he lets her tempt him and use him for his money. This weakness of Roy’s is responsible for the majority of the suffering in his life. One critic, Sara Constantakis, claims that “[Roy] is able to recognize his weaknesses and still keep perspective on what is truly important” (Constantakis). Although there comes a point when Roy does become aware of his weaknesses in love, he is not able to overcome them. Instead, he gives in and loses sight of what is truly important. For instance, Memo plays with his emotions so much that he only realizes it at the end of his career, saying, “I never did learn anything out of my past life, now I have to suffer again” (Malamud 230). Malamud emphasizes the necessity of learning from mistakes and correcting the past. As a result, even Roy admits that his suffering is due to his inability to learn from his past mistakes.
Many critics believe that Malamud is trying to convey the idea that Roy’s circumstances were solely dependent on fate.

This would mean Roy was chosen to be the tragic hero in which none of his actions affect his destiny; it is predetermined. However, in reality, the author’s purpose is to illustrate how everyone is in control of their own fate. Roy Hobbs had the power to have a better life but he did everything wrong, which is the point Malamud is trying to make. In he novel, Iris Lemon explains to Roy that “suffering is what brings us toward happiness” (Malamud 152). This statement is the author’s way of implying that one could turn their attitude around so that their suffering can be converted into more positive emotions, such as happiness. Iris believes in Roy, as shown by her support in standing at the baseball game to help him get out of his slump. Therefore, it would be foolish not to agree with her notion that one is capable of changing their hardships into smiles. This contradicts critics’ claim that Roy’s fate is predetermined because Iris encourages him that how you react to your suffering is in your control. Perhaps Malamud is also alluding to the idea that one must suffer first before they can truly appreciate genuine happiness. Regardless, he speaks through the character of Iris to say that everyone has control over their

destiny.
Many ideologies have come about from the various artistic and literary movements people have created in history. Ever since their existence, these ideas have been present in many literary works, and the issues are still relevant today. Bernard Malamud included many well-known ideas in his novel, The Natural, such as the wise sayings of Henry David Thoreau, examples of modernism, and evidence of Greek mythology. The theme of suffering is prominent in this novel, especially with the character of Roy Hobbs. At the beginning of his career, he is shot by a woman and does not return to baseball for fifteen years. He also struggles with his desire for fame, wealth, success, and love. Malamud is trying to convey the idea that Roy has the power to alter his unfortunate fate and divert his suffering into positivity, but he fails to do so. Therefore, Roy’s arrogance, misleading ambitions, and inability to learn from his mistakes cause his suffering to be imposed upon himself.