The Natural: Final post

Right before the break on (my) page 213 — this is the final break before the end of the second to last chapter — the text reads: "Vogelman made a bony steeple with his arms. Gazing at the plate, he found his eyes were misty and he couldn't read the catcher's sign. He looked again and saw Roy, in full armor, mounted on a black charger. Vogelman stared hard, his arms held high so as not to balk. Yes, there he was coming at home with a long lance as thick as a young tree. He rubbed his arm across his eyes and keeled over in a dead faint."

This story is filled with people who see Roy for what he is and/or see him for what he wants to be. Which character sees him most clearly and which character is bamboozled by his talent? Go beyond the obvious.

The Natural 174-194

Some writing: In what way has Malamud perpetuated the heroic male stereotype? In what way has he changed it? How does he see gender as an aid or hinderance to dream fulfillment?

Temptation: 2 Samuel 11
Roy's response: Isaiah 5:20 — Woe unto him who calls evil good and good evil. Is this a sign of Roy's growth?

Pete Rose 

1. Video

2. Article

Baseball's Gambling Scandals

Black Sox Scandal (notice how Kinsella used this incident as positive inspiration whereas Malamud has seen the darker side. Thinking about the two novels and the two writers and how they portray baseball (and taking into account the near 30 year span between the book's publication dates), what are we to think of baseball's future in the American psyche and culture? What are we to think of male heroes and how they influence society?)

Derek Jeter and the Curse of Age

Discussion

1. How does the letter from Iris contrast with the scene with Judge and Memo? What are we to take from this sharp contrast?

2. In what way does the American definition of a hero conflict with that of what a hero really should be?

3. Compare and contrast Iris & Roy.

4. How does blind ambition conflict with having measured values?

5. How are Roy's and Memo's dreams similar? How are they different?

6. Dream on 179-180. Significance?

Nightly post

Think about how Americans would define a hero. Is it more important to our culture that heroes do amazing things and act in super-human ways or is it more important to uphold cultural values and morals? Can a hero do both? Does the American ideal of a hero set them up for failure?

Share your ideas. You can relate this to Roy or not. To a real life athletic figure or someone else.

The Natural: Day 5 (136-175)

Free write on Independent reading: Roy fails to see himself as anything other than a super hero. How does your player/manager/coach see himself? Does your person see himself as a tragic or traditional hero?

How do you see your person?

OR

"He was like a hunter stalking a bear, a whale, or maybe the sight of a single fleeting star the way he went after that ball. He gave it no rest (Wonderboy, after its long famine, chopping, chewing, devouring) and was not satisfied unless he lifted it (one eye cocked as he swung) over the roof and spinning toward the horizon," (154).  What is your person hunting? How is going about getting what he wants?

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Chalk Talk with quotes from Iris chapter.

Roy's fear of death. How does Iris bring this fear to light and what does this reveal about Roy as a person? What is Malamud telling us about the role of death in a hero's life?

What's up with all that eating? Ick. And that scene with Memo feeding him another half sandwich ... How do Roy's obsessions lead to his downfall?

Notice how the intimate language Malamud uses in regards to Iris is filled with contradiction (149, 151, 172). In what way does this foreshadow Roy's coming decisions.

Read from mid-183 to the end of the chapter. (turns away from flaw -- denial -- and instead focuses on inability to overcome flaw). 

One of the most important chapters comes when Roy is presented with happiness and success with Iris. He's now has a way to restore the wasteland. What does the reader learn about Roy during his interactions with Iris? What are the other most important moments in Roy's character development as a hero/tragic hero?

Natural: Day 4 (103-135)

A little video

Free write:

Vengeance/revenge: noun — punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong

Justice: noun — the quality of being fair and reasonable; the administration of the law or authority in maintaining this.

Is Roy seeking justice or vengeance/revenge for what Harriet Bird did to him? Does the distinction matter? Does a hero seek out one over the other?

Discussion

1. 105-106: Uncertainty in Roy's language.

2. "You work at is so — sometimes you even look desperate — but to him it was a playful game and so was his life" (107). What is Memo's take on Roy as a baseball player? How does that compare with how she saw Bump? How would Memo define the word hero? Does this quote change the idea of Bump as a failed hero?

3. Where in the reading can we see signs of Memo's toxic nature? What does her toxicity tell us about Roy? About Roy's ability? 

4. Roy & Memo are like Gatsby & Daisy ... how? How about like Odysseus & the Sirens (you know you love Homer!)?

5. Read aloud: "He woke in the locker room, stretched out on a bench. ...All night long he waited for the bloody silver bullet" (126-8). In what ways does this passage demonstrate Roy's failure to understand his role in terms of healing the Fisher King? What does this passage tell us about Roy's truest desires?

6. What does the woman in the stands stand up for? What does she give Roy that Memo cannot?

Another homework post

Ambition ... it drives Roy to do some stupid things and it drives him to greatness. In your life, how have your ambitions gotten the better of you? How have your ambitions helped you succeed? Be specific but appropriate in your personal reference.

The Natural: Day 3 ish

Many moons ago:

4. The Fisher King, the wasteland

5. In what ways is Bump a failed hero?

6. What kind of person is Roy? How has he changed in 15 years and how has he stayed the same?

7. In what ways are Bump, the Whammer and Roy all variations of the same hero mold? What is Malamud telling us about heroes in society?

8. Roy waits for Memo & the chance to play. What do these to things have in common? What is Roy seeking from both?

More recent moons

p. 63: Roy's dream. In what way is a dream an effective format for revealing a character's flaws or desires? In what way is it ineffective? Is it necessary to Roy's character development?
p. 70: Roy's first at-bat! Let's read this together. Compare the language of this pitch to the language of the pitch Roy throws to the Whammer. Difference? What recurring images are included?
p. 72: What kills Bump?
p: 74-75: Canary story ... what has Roy reclaimed by slaying the canary?

Even more recent ones
p. 76-77: Memo's tears. What purpose does the hyperbole serve? How does this opening description of Memo inform us of her true nature?
*Why does Malamud give the Judge the power of the Bible? How might this land with a 1952 reader versus today?
*Seven deadly sins (Lust, greed, wrath, sloth, pride, envy, gluttony). Malamud has given different characters in the novel the ability to exploit Roy's different shortcomings and his desires. Which character coincides with each sin and how does that character exploit Roy's naivete? What does this tell us about Roy as a tragic and flawed hero?
*Thus far in the novel, who knows Roy the best? Who can see him most clearly?

Natural Night Post 3: Choices Abound

What is the role of Wonderboy? Think big, outside the box, beyond "a bat". Reference the text when needed.

OR

In what ways are the "villains" unable to see Roy clearly? And what might Malamud be suggesting in the blindness of the villains? Be specific and reference the text.

OR

What outside forces distract Roy's talent?