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?

The Natural: Day 8

Temptation: 2 Samuel 11

Your own trials: Reflect on and write about a time when you were tempted to do something you might not have otherwise done. In terms of Roy, what are the many different levels on which Roy is being tempted by Judge's offer?

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 179-180. Significance?

Jerseys for the cheap

http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/store/ff8080812571f07801257852d1d34099.html#prod-seller-store

The guy's name is Ming and he replies to e-mails very quickly.

The Natural: Day 6 & 7

Free write: Roy fails to see himself as anything other than a super hero. How does this play into his hero's cycle and the presentation of him as a hero -- tragic or traditional.

How do Roy's obsessions lead to his downfall? Look specifically at the final few paragraphs of last night's reading.

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?

The Natural: Post #7

What's up with Roy's obsession with food?

The Natural: Post #6

Iris -- what a difference from Memo. What does Iris offer Roy that Memo does not? What role can you forsee her playing as the novel progresses?

The Natural: Day 5

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. In what ways is Malamud showing the reader that Roy has changed very little since the start of the novel and in showing this, what kind of heroic figure is Malamud creating?

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?

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?

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?

The Natural: Post 5

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.

Heroes

Greg Morenson video

Green Fields of my Mind

Independent Reading work

The Natural: Day 4

1. Fair Memo: looking specifically at the first two paragraphs of last night's reading, how does Malamud characterize Memo?

2. 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?

The Natural: Post #4

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?

Look at these happy people:

The Natural: Day 2&3

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
1. In what ways is Bump a failed hero?
2. What kind of person is Roy? How has he changed in 15 years and how has he stayed the same?
3. 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?
4. What's the significance of the train?
5. Roy waits for Memo & the chance to play. What do these to things have in common? What is Roy seeking from both?

The Natural: Post #2

Lots of connections to the Parcival myth in last night's reading. Some literary critics have said that Malamud put a realistic man in a mythological setting. Is that fair? Has Malamud set Roy up for failure? So far, has Roy changed in the 15 years since the shooting? Be specific in your responses, please.

The Natural: Day 1

Free write: Most titles give us an idea what the story is about, and what we will experience if we read. But some authors use titles to do more than that; some use metaphors so their titles create additional meanings.

In the world of sports, talent scouts, managers, coaches, writers and fans examine the talent of newcomers and wonder whether they will be successful. A player whose skills seem to need no training, or whose skills seem God-given, is called a natural.

In the Middle Ages (approx. 500A.D. to 1350 A.D.), the term natural referred to an idiot, a kind of foolish innocent person whom it was thought God protected.

How does Bernard Malamud use the title of the book to allude to Roy as a natural in both senses?

Discussion
1. NYTimes Book Review
2. Allegory
3. Parzival/Percival: What parallels are present?
4. p. 26: What are we to make of Harriet's questioning of Ray: "Isn't there something over and above earthly things—some more glorious meaning to one's life and activities?"
5. Where can we see myth-making in the first section?
6. Symbols present and what might they signify?

The Natural: Post #1

One of the major themes of this novel is the conflict between myth and reality. How is this conflict present in modern day baseball? Be sure to identify specific attributes of both the myth and reality of baseball.

Shoeless Joe: The end

Write: Where is Salinger headed? What's beyond the gate?

1. Page 251: Salinger's baseball sermon. What's the intention behind his? How does it compare/contrast to Eddie's?
2. What changes Richard in that moment with his father?
3. Looking back throughout the novel, what's the significance of Karin or Annie always seeing the players first?

Here are the essay topics!

Shoeless Joe: Day 8

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?

Shoeless Joe: Day 6

Work on your scene. Remember magical REALism is not magical crazy-ism (Trevor!). Keep in mind where your characters are headed and what the idol can offer the commoner.

Discussion Question

1. "Writing is different," Salinger insists. "Other people get into occupations by accident or deign; but writers are born. We have to write. I have to write. I could work at selling motels, or slopping hogs, for fifty years, but if someone asked my occupation, I'd say writer, even if I'd never sold a word. Writers write. Other people talk." (109)

How does Salinger's idea relate to Ray? How does it relate to the idea of faith?

2. Why does Ray constantly press Salinger about writing?

3. Ray pulls out a fan letter to Salinger (p. 134), but Salinger is unmoved by the note. Why do you think Salinger is so reluctant to be loved and adored? Why include this type of character in the novel? What purpose of Salinger's reluctance serve in Ray's journey?

Shoeless Joe: Day 5

A great piece supplied by Megan!

Who is this Moonlight Graham?

And what about Veda Ponikvar?

Free write: Salinger is Ray Kinsella's life-long heroic author who offers Ray not only a chance to meet his hero but also something to make his dreams come true. Think about a hero in your life -- a sports star, an author, an actor, but someone not related to you. Think about someone who can offer you a piece of your dream or some wish you have. Now, tell me who you're going to pick up, why you're picking up this person and where you're going.

Each student is assigned another student's pairing. You then must write a scene between the two characters.

Shoeless Joe: 78-101

Big group discussion

Rules

1. Everyone must speak

2. Use the text to support your ideas

3. Build off of one another; keep moving forward

4. Think before you speak

5. Plan: take 5-7 minutes to formulate your ideas and then we'll begin

"'It wasn't just the baseball game. I wanted it to be a metaphor for something else: perhaps trust, or freedom, or ritual, or faithfulness, or joy, or any of the other things that baseball can symbolize. I only want to make you happy ...'" I feel myself choking up as I say it.

'You don't know how those words affected me,' I go on. 'It was the line 'They tore down the Polo Grounds in 1964' that got me. Those words flew off the printed page, hovered in the air, assumed the shape of a gray bird, and landed on my shoulder. I reached up and picked off the bird and held it in my hand, tiny and pulsing, pressed it hard against my chest, and it disappeared like mist. If I were to open my shirt, and you looked closely, you could see its faint silver outline on my skin'" (97).

Ray is easily intoxicated by magic, faith, and his religion, but not all humans are. Why do humans daily deny the presence of what Ray finds so fulfilling? In what ways has Ray's religion and faith persuaded Salinger to head to Minnesota with Ray and how does that inform us about Salinger's true character? What role does the language of myth play at this point in time in the novel?

Other questions for discussion

1. Compare and contrast Mark & Ray. Use the text and W.P. Kinsella's similes to support your ideas.

2. What are Ray's specific vulnerabilities?

3. How has Ray changed since the opening of the novel? How has he remained stagnant as a character?

4. Some critics say Ray gives a sermon on pp. 84 -85. Firstly, what is he preaching? Remember that a sermon is a speech by a prophet or member of the clergy. Secondly, how does Ray fit into that definition?

5. How does nostalgia present itself in last night's reading?

Shoeless Joe: Day 3

Free write:
"I [Ray] practically dance to our table, I am feeling so manic, I have done it," (77).

Manic (adjective): showing wild and apparently deranged excitement and energy (Mac Dictionary).
Magic (noun): the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces (Mac Dictionary).

Using the text as evidence, in what ways is Ray both manic and magic? And in what way do Ray's actions blur the line between the two (in other words, how might a reader of or character in the novel see his manic behavior as magic or the magic of the field as manic behavior)?

Discussion:

1. What future conflicts has W.P. Kinsella set up? At what level do these conflicts exist (man vs society, man vs self, man vs nature, man vs supernatural)?

Shoeless Joe: Day 2

Some fun


Free write: In Shoeless Joe, a voice tells Ray, "ease his pain," and he knows immediately that it is J.D. Salinger whose pain needs to be eased. So, Ray begins preparing (see pages 33-34). Think about  an immense challenge you have had to prepare yourself for (a test, a game, a performance). What rituals did you partake in to ensure you were successful?


Discussion
How do our own rituals inform our reading of this text?

A look at smilies: Thinking back on your immense challenge and your rituals, write 7 similes characterizing your experience.

Shoeless Joe: Day 1

Free write: Look at the quote that prefaces the book. Why do you think W.P. Kinsella began the book with this idea?

"Some men see thing as they are, and say why, I dream of things that never were, and say why not."

A bit more insight into the novel.

Discussion questions:
1. How is Ray's epiphany on p.16 related to the magic on the field?
2. Where in the chapter can we find magic (not literally the word)? Why is it important to weave that in from the start? What is W.P. Kinsella trying to show us? What is he asking of us?
3. In what ways do Karin & Annie differ? Why is their difference essential to Ray's success/failure?
4. How does Annie's faith in Ray mirror his faith in baseball? And why has W.P. Kinsella created such similar faiths? What commentary might he be making on faith in general?
5. Let's look at some verbs .... find a few that just pop from the page. And, pay close attention to the verbs and similies/metaphors as we move forward.

"Last Pennant" & "The Thrill of the Grass"

1. In what way is baseball linked to religion in both stories? (Remember, religion is about ritual, belief) And why do you think Kinsella has made this connection?

A first view of the baseball cards AND THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!! They look fabulous!!!!!

Baseball Card Project Info

Here it is! The Baseball Card Project informational sheet.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Baseball cards

Post your team of nine. Be sure to label each player's position.

And just for your reading pleasure. A player with a conscience??

We Are the Ship: In-class writing

So many of the negro leaguers had nicknames. There was Cool Papa Bell, Leroy "Satchel" Paige, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, George "Mule" Suttles, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe and more. Now is the time for you to think of your nickname. If you are/were a baseball/softball player, what would your nickname be? If you'd like to think of a nickname in other realms if sports do not apply to you, awesome. But, you have to come up with a nickname and a reasoning behind it.

Here's mine:

Mary "Sneezy" Hueston. When I played in the summer league in my hometown I was bumped up one division because they needed a stronger catcher. I had worked with my brother at honing my crouched throw to second, and the hard work hard paid off. I was ready to play in the older league as a catcher, but I wasn't mentally ready to face stronger pitchers. So, every time I approached the plate, I would pretend to have a sneezing fit. I would kick up the dirt with my cleats, dig my feet into the batter's box, stare down the pitcher, and then start to sneeze. My mom thinks this was some sort of involuntary nervous reaction, my way to delay the inevitable (the pitch), but most of the time I wasn't conscience of actually doing this. It's just what I did. So my coach started to call me Sneezy. Which when shouted sometimes sounded like he was calling me sleazy. Always got a laugh from the parents.

We Are The Ship: Second half

1. How would you describe the tone of this book? Ground your answer specifically to the text.

2. Did a certain negro league player stand out to you? Why?

We Are the Ship: Discussion

1. What's the effect of repeating the phrase: "We played in a rough league"?

2. What is the most striking example of the player's struggle presented thus far?

3. What is the significance of the title?

We Are the Ship: First half

Two parts to this post because we need to look at the two parts of this text: writing and illustrations.

1. How did the illustrations enhance the story? Which one was your favorite and why?

2. Inning 4 ends with a quote from Satchel Paige: "We were worked. Worked like the mule that plows the field during the week and pulls the carriage to church on Sunday." What are your thoughts on this line? If the players were the mules, who were the farmers? If the players were tearing up the land(scape) of baseball, do you think they were doing it for future generations?

The Negro Leagues

In-class free write: In what ways did the Negro Leagues exemplify the spirit of baseball as America's national pastime?

Broun & Honig Readings

1. Broun is a baseball reporter, and reporters were often attributed with those exciting one-liners (or maybe two-liners) that really spoke to the excitement of the game. Looking at this piece, pick out a favorite line or two and tell me why these lines are fabulous. For example, I love the line, "Ward's homer was less lusty, but went in the same general direction." Good use of lusty, like it's the ball that wants to go somewhere rather than the hitter wanting the home run. Good use of personification.

2. What do you think is the most fantastic detail of Cool Papa's playing career? And why do you think so? Detail could be on or off the field.

Great job on the last post! Keep up the insight.

Selected poems: Humphries, Williams, Swenson

After reading the poems, please post a response to the following question:

What about baseball is each poet trying to capture? Be sure to use the text to support your ideas.

A few tips: be concise, be concrete, don't repeat what your peers have already said.

National Pastime: Ritter & Spalding

In-class writing:

Taking into account the writings of Spalding and Ritter, please answer the following question:

In what ways do these two pieces capture the patriotism and nostalgia often associated with baseball?