Free write: “I know that some of us, and for some reason I am one of them, get to reach out and touch our heart’s desire, like a child who gets to pet the nose of an old horse, soft as satin, safe as a grandfather’s lap. And I know, too, that when most people reach out for that heart’s desire, it appears not as a horse but as a tiger, and they are rewarded with snarls, frustration, and disillusionment” (218).
Personally: What does this passage make you think of? Textually: How does this relate to the major action of the novel?
Other Questions
1. “A collector’s dream” (217). In what way is Ray a collector? What does he collect?
2. “Fact and fantasy swirl together” (218). What role does self-delusion have in dream fulfillment? Is Ray delusional? Salinger? Are we all, just a little? How does delusion relate to our ability to believe and have faith?
3. “We sleep.” …“And wait.” … “And dream … Oh, how we dream” (221). Dream of what?
4. Look at Eddie’s baseball sermon on p. 227 and beyond:
What’s a sermon?
What are the gospels?
What did baseball offer Eddie?
What does the Field offer Eddie?
What’s the significance of using “the word” in his speech? What effect does the repetition have? What does the repetition allude to?
What does Eddie offer Ray?
Besides the love of the game, what’s the connection between the two men?
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