Handing in your essay

Please drop your essay into my DropItToMe folder.

The password is ...

EnglishRocks

Submission Requirements
1. Please title the file with your full name (i.e. Mary_Collie.docx or Mary_Collie.pdf). PDF is preferred.

2. Please submit either a word file of a pdf. Regardless, the file type must be visible.

3. Make sure you save a copy of the essay for yourself.

Week #9: The Natural's influence

As we close our our study of The Natural, it seems (once again) that the stars are aligned with our course of study .... unplanned, of course.

What do think of this story?

This will be our final post before spring break. We'll pick up posting once we return. Thanks for your good work and insights. I especially enjoyed the posts from last week!

**Kudos to Josh C for sending me another version of this story. Good eye!

The Natural: 135-194

Unrelated to The Natural, but a must see ...

Some small group work: 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?

Pete Rose 

1. Video
2. Article

Baseball's Gambling Scandals

Black Sox Scandal

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 189. Significance?

The Natural: 103-117

From our last class ...

2. "He was conscious that he was filling Bump's shoes, not only because he batted in the clean-up slot and fielded in the sun field ... but also because the crowds made no attempt to separate his identity from Bump's," (79). In what way is Malamud commenting on a hero's place in society?

3. Can the judge see Roy clearly or is his insight conjecture? In what way do the Bible scriptures influence the reader's understanding of the Judge?

4. How do Memo, Gus, and Max help develop the character of Roy? In other words, if context helps shape our identity, what do these three characters bring out in Roy?

On to last night's reading ...

1. (110): It was a confusing proposition to want a girl you'd already had ....whether he would be in the least intereste in her today." How does this sentence model Roy's uncertainty?

2. (112): In what way does this passage change the idea of Bump as a failed hero?

3. How has the relationship between Roy and Pop evolved? How is Roy fulfilling Pop's needs? How is Pops fulfilling Roy's needs?

4. As mentioned earlier in class, Memo is to Roy as the Sirens were to Odysseus and other men. Considering this comparison, what does this reveal about Roy's true character? What does this tell us about Memo's place in the hero's cycle?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week #8: The DR influence

This is an older article from my collection of favorites, but I still enjoy it for the insight it offers. The influence of Dominican players is not to be glossed over, and as the MLB continues to struggle for professional sports supremacy (is baseball still the national pastime?), players from the DR and other parts of the Spanish speaking world will become more and more important to the success and preservation of the game. Of course, MLB must also compensate and care for all of its players equally.

What are your thoughts on the issues raised in this piece? What about those stats? DR players account for 10% of active roster players and 24% of the farm system. Not bad for such a little country.

The Natural: 76-102

Benching a Legend by Roger Kahn

1. Fair Memo: looking specifically at the first two paragraphs of last night's reading, how does Malamud characterize Memo? What does his language tell us about her role in the novel? Her role in the hero's cycle? Her role in the the Parcival legend?

2. "He was conscious that he was filling Bump's shoes, not only because he batted in the clean-up slot and fielded in the sun field ... but also because the crowds made no attempt to separate his identity from Bump's," (79). In what way is Malamud commenting on a hero's place in society?

3. What does Roy's endless pursuit of Memo reveal about his character?

4. Can the judge see Roy clearly or is his insight conjecture? In what way do the Bible scriptures influence the reader's understanding of the Judge?

5. How do Memo, Gus, and Max help develop the character of Roy? In other words, if context helps shape our identity, what do these three characters bring out in Roy?

Week #7: baseball and jobs

While not thematically linked to our reading (although I sense that Matthew or Jessie or someone will find a connection I have yet to), I love this article for the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of a baseball player. We're not talking the big guns and the high paid stars, we're talking about the utility players, the minor and major leaguers who are in the game for the game because clearly they're not making much money.

What are your thoughts on this piece? Learn anything? Connect this to our discussions?

Keep up the good work.

The Natural: 57-75

Free write: The rookie season, what fun. Roy arrives for his first full day and his uniform has been knotted and soaked, his stockings are shredded, and much, much more. Back in 1952 when The Natural was published, hazing was a fairly common practice. Now, its illegal and quite controversial when it does happen.

Reflect on and write about a time when you were a newcomer, a rookie. Maybe it's when you joined a new team, when you arrived at a new school, or when you moved to a new neighborhood. What was it like for you as a newcomer and was there hazing involved?

Discussion

• p. 67: Roy has a dream during the hypnosis sessions with Doc Knobb. Is the dream an effectiveformat/tool for revealing Roy's shortcomings? Why? Why not?
• In what ways is Bump a failed hero? What kills Bump?
• Some literary critics assert that the Whammer, Roy and Bump are all hero's crafted in the same mold. Do you agree or disagree? If this is the case, what is Malamud telling us about heroes in society?
• What's the significance of the train?
• Roy waits for Memo & the chance to play. What do these to things have in common? What is Roy seeking from both?
• Roy's first at-bat. Read aloud. Significance of the "plummeted like a dead bird"?
• p. 79: bird imagery & warnings from Pop (what tragic flaw does Pop's warning reveal about Roy's character?)
• Role of wonderboy?

Posted with Blogsy