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?
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In "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon", there are many links between baseball and religion. The way in which the people of Tiller's dreams ask God to let the Chicago Cubs win is an obvious connection. But I think a deeper connection lies in Tiller's belief in the greater consequences of winning baseball games. The way that he fears precipitating armageddon by leading the Cubs to the pennant shows he truly believes that baseball has some higher power or meaning. This shows pretty devout belief.
ReplyDeleteI see elements of religion in "The Thrill of the Grass" in the way the men who bring the sod almost form a cult. The serious and dutiful vibe projected by the men as they do their work makes their ritual seem devout and even sacred. And their dedication to their project reminds me of one's dedication to a church.
I think Kinsella's connection serves to underscore the fact that, for those who are lifetime fans, baseball is really a sacred thing. Baseball is a game, but it represents powerful emotions and ideas that elevate it to a higher status.
In the "Last Pennant", Al Tiller (the manager of the Chicago Cubs) has reoccurring dreams in which he is told by God that the next time the Cubs win the pennant, the world will end. This story links baseball with religion because at the close Tiller makes a decision that will result in the Cubs losing. He does this because he has faith in what God says.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Thrill of the Grass" the men tear the artificial turf out of the field and replace it with real grass. These fans are very religious when it comes to baseball. They believe in certain rituals of the way baseball should be played. Part of this religion that they follow includes baseball being played on real grass. I think that W.P. Kinsella has made this connection because baseball is very similar to a religion. Some people are fanatics for baseball and to them it is much more than a game.
In the Last Pennant Before Armageddon, there is deeper meaning behind the patterns of Tiller's dreams. Tiller says that he knows practically nothing of religion and that any adult who has passed the fifth grade could not believe in religion; however, Tiller subconsciously knows a lot more about religion. Tiller's dream cycle lasts 6 nights, while the 7th night is a night for rest. There is no coincidence that the dream cycle directly correlates to the story of the creation of the world, where God makes the world and its parts in 6 days and rests on the 7th. There are many similar religious references throughout this story, which I interpreted as commentary about the role of superstition in baseball. Tiller shows in this story that while he may not be religious, he is superstitious like many others in the game.
ReplyDelete"The Thrill of the Grass" had less of a relation to actual religion than "baseball religion". Kinsella highlights the traditions in baseball, such as where one always observes the game, and how it is passed on generation to generation. Religion can be summed up as a set of rules to live one's life by and I feel that "baseball religion" is the same way. "Baseball religion" is where you sit, the food you eat, and many other superstitions or preferences that come along with the game. Kinsella definitely made this connection to show baseball's mental power over fans and how they perceive the game.
Cara
ReplyDeleteThese two stories seem to contrast each other in a way, as they give examples of "the religion of baseball" and christianity. The Thrill of the Grass shows the way that baseball has become like a religion for so many people. I agree with Nate that the men had created a kind of ritual out of the grass. This religion does not necessarily have to include a god, but is defined by their devotion to the sport and their rituals.
in The Last Pennant before Armageddon, christianity overcomes Tiller's devotion to baseball. It does this through fear. This is a pattern that is often present through the history of religion, a higher power invokes fear in humans. I also noticed the same patterns that Marshall talked about, how this story has a connection to the creation of the earth. It is interesting because the same pattern is used for the creation as what may be the destruction.
In “The Thrill of The Grass”, like other people have said going to the grass became a ritual for the men. The stadium is their place of worship, and baseball is their religion. Often when there is conflict with religion there is war, and in this case the war is the action of replacing the artificial turf with real grass. In “The Last Pennant Before Armageddon” often religion predicts the end of the world, or major events that will change the world. In this situation, under the religion of baseball the ending of the world is the Cubs winning the pennant. In both stories Kinsella uses baseball as a form of religion and the important aspects of it in comparison to the pillars of religions.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon" there are multiple ties to religion. The first being the obvious, in that Tiller's devotion to God overrules his devotion to baseball and specifically the Chicago Cubs. His dreams come in 7 days, the first 6 being dreams of unrest, with the last finally having a peaceful night of sleep. I took this to be the idea that the world was created in seven days, and the first 6 was God attempting to throw together the different aspects of our world while the 7th day was a final day of rest. I think a lot of this story is based around religion.
ReplyDeleteIn The Thrill of the Grass, baseball is just a metaphor for their devotion to religion. I believe that the author is trying to convey that when baseball is their real religion, the stadium is their place of worship, and the war that is being displayed is merely the changing from real to artificial grass. This war is like so many of the religious wars that are fought when change is needed.
In "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon," Al Tiller receives premonitions from god in his dreams. In his mind, he truly believes that the messages in his dreams will come true, and the decision that he has to make is between winning and destruction, or losing and hanging on to reality. He views this as a very tough decision. I think that this sort of equates the importance of religion to the importance of baseball. To some, they are seen as items of huge consequence, and it is difficult to choose which one is more valuable. This makes me think about how some people might believe that baseball is the most important thing in the world, and also something that god might care about. It reminds me of the way that players sometimes salute to god when crossing the plate after hitting a home run. Like it was the doing of some higher power that they were able to succeed in baseball.
ReplyDelete"The Thrill of the Grass" speaks to the ritualistic aspect of religion. Of doing the same thing over and over again. Although they are only doing something small, putting in one square of grass, saying one prayer, helping one person, with the repetition of it, they hope that they can make a monumental difference.
In The Thrill of the Grass, baseball is viewed as a ritual partaken by only the true fans of the game. It is only those who are truly dedicated that get to partake in the practice of re-planting the field. The Thrill of the Grass is not in reference to religion, but it shows the passionate fans of baseball and how their secrete routine is a communal effort to bring baseball back to life in their town. The re-sodding of the baseball field has become like their church, and all of their preferences with seats and with the atmosphere surrounding the game have become their practices.
ReplyDeleteThe Last Pennant Before Armageddon shows multiple ties to religion. His prophetic dreams predict that the world will end with a Cubs victory in the division championship. The ominous call from the archangel mirrors the dreams and premonitions that he has. The dreams that he had become his tie to religion, as he begins studying the Bible, looking for answers. Religion, although he thought it foolish, consumed his life. However, as "Armageddon" approached as the pitcher was about to win the game, he again refers to religion as he refuses to go against his own personal honor code, and shows how much baseball means to him by keeping the pitcher in the game.
In "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon," there a many examples of the correlation between baseball and religion. One example is Tiller's dreams: religion usually involves elements of ritual - the way that the people in Tiller's dream beg ritualistically every night combined with the way that cycle repeats every week is symbolic of religious ritual. Another more subtle detail is the fact that Sunday is the only night that Tiller rests peacefully. My limited knowledge of religion includes a basic understanding that Sunday is the day of rest, so the detail of Sunday being Tiller's mind's day of rest also serves as a small link to religion. Religion's corellation with baseball is made a little bit more clear when Tiller reads "that the armour of God for the battle of Armageddon was said to be Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and the Spirit," as so many people seem to worship the undying spirit of baseball like a religious faith, and find all four other aforementioned qualities embodied in it. Tiller's belief in maintaining honour at al costs is also symbolic of religion, as religion is often centred around doing the right thing for the world and maintaining one's integrity.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Thrill of the Grass," nature is their religion. The group of men described in the story form a cult that worships nature and the ancient setting it used to provide - and in their mind, the only setting in which baseball should be played. The author characterises their endeavour as "... a ritual for true believers only" (p.194). Kinsella also uses very vivid imagery as to convey to the reader just how much these people love baseball: "Virtually no words are spoken," and in their quiet diligence, they internalise their excitement, "the excitement of birthday mornings, Christmas eves, and home-town doubleheaders" (p.194-195). They seem to feel a sense of duty and love; this sort of feeling that buzzes through the soul, making "rockets shoot off in half-a-hundred chests" and their "bod[ies] tingle" and come alive with love (p.195). This love is the cause of their devotion to their project; to them this is an offering to their sport, to baseball, to what they love and worship like God.
I believe that Kinsella has made this connection between baseball and religion in order to show just how much people can love baseball. I feel that, although the second story has less direct references to God, it shows the religious aspect more clearly as it demonstrates just how thoroughly some people lose themselves in the game. He shows how baseball can parallel life, and how it is wondrous and sacred to certain devout fans.
In "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon," Kinsella ties religion and baseball together in multiple ways. Tiller always criticized religion because he felt that God had never treated him fairly. However, when he starts having success and being noticed by the public, he realizes that religion is what he needs to keep himself strong. He finally realizes that, if the Cubs win the Pennant, and Judgement Day does come, he will finally get to see his beloved again. He begins to believe that he has never gotten what he's wanted in life because he never believed in a higher power, and now God is reaching out to him through his dreams.
ReplyDelete"The Thrill of the Grass" is about the true fans' spiritual connection to baseball. When there is a strike, they all long for and feel a need for baseball, or at least to be at the stadium. When they are called by the narrator of the story, they come in droves to protest the strike, because baseball is their religion. Kinsella uses this story (and the first one) to explore the importance of baseball to some people, and the fact that they view it as something that they need, something that guides them, much like religion.
Alex H.
ReplyDeleteBaseball is linked to religion because it is generally something that is either followed intensely or not at all, similarly to religion. In "The Thrill of the Grass", the man performs his duty day in and day out until he is satisfied. He follows this ritual because it is something that he firmly believes in and is willing to commit all that time and energy into observing it. As in 'The Last Pennant Before Armageddon", Al Tiler is completely convinced that his dreams are real and that the prophecy will hold true. His firm belief in the prophecy makes him connect everything he sees and hears to his dreams. He believes that if the Cubs win the pennant that the world will end, and right when they are about to win, conflicts between Russia and the US break out making him very uneasy about the future of baseball and the world.
Kinsella forges several links to religion in his short story, "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon." There's the overt link to religion, involving the Archangel, the prophecy, and the repeated dreams with people praying to God, from the Old Testament and more modern times, for the Cubs to win the Pennant. However, the concept of religion and the links between it and this story take on a whole new meaning once the story is examined from a psychological standpoint. Tiller is someone who has seen a lot of failure. At many crucial points in his life, whether in relationships or in his career, for whatever reason, he has failed to achieve his goals or obtain what he desires. He walks away from the girl he loves, a decision so painful he can't even "bring himself to use her name" (Kinsella 16); in years past, "Al Tiller was considered a player to watch," yet "he never batted higher than .236 I his career" (Kinsella 17). Downfalls like that can easily condition someone to failing. So when he unexpectedly begins to lead the Cubs to victory, when "the sun is finally shining on Al Tiller" (Kinsella 4), to a certain degree, it makes sense that he would look for something to go wrong. All the success must seem like a miracle to him, yet instead of getting religion from the experience, he grows afraid—a classic biblical theme, and a common step on a journey of faith. He just looks for where he'll fail; when he can't seem to find that place, his subconscious invents a way for him to fail (a biblical way, too), showing his rejection of faith and transitively religion.
ReplyDelete"The Thrill of the Grass" links to religion in terms of believing in a higher power. What they men do with the artificial turf and the sod is illegal and no doubt somewhat costly. However, they act on the belief that what they are doing serves a higher purpose: playing baseball authentically, with authentic grass and authentic work. In Kinsella's story, baseball seems magical, mysterious, something that can bring people closely together regardless of any difference in the world. The story discusses characters in their childhoods and in their eighties, paints scenes of baseball in America and Japan, and juxtaposes a friendship of two men, one a failed shortstop and one presumably a wealthy businessman—all linked by their shared love for the dream and wonder they view baseball to be. To me, that sounds like what religion should do.
In the Last Pennant Before Armageddon, Tiller’s dreams are directly in line with the earth creation story. The first six days were the meat of the story, where everything went on. On the seventh night Tiller “slept deeply and without dreams” (Kinsella 11). This story totally follows the pattern of how God rested on the final day of creation. I think the story also has to do with superstitions in baseball. Because of the grind of the game, it can sometimes consume one, and lead them to go into weird phases throughout a season. This seems to be one of those times, as Tiller is totally confused and engulfed in the amazing events transpiring for his team, and looks to religious to make sense of all of it.
ReplyDelete“The Thrill of the Grass” demonstrates the communal aspect of religion. As more and more people come to the stadium each night, they feel like a family and work toward a common goal together. For me at least, a lot of my religious belief is based on the community. I would not go to Temple as much if it was not for the other members who make the experience that much better. Having people around one sharing a common goal or identity really acts as a motivator and indicator of success and accomplishment.
Brett
ReplyDeleteIn“The Thrill of the Grass” shows the belief of playing on grass fields in honor of how the game was originally played and enjoyed. Because the grass represents the raw and natural part of the game that everyone grew up enjoying the author feels the temptation and responsibility to put in grass. When the people get together to help convert the field it has a very religious feeling to it. Just like religion, while astro turf might be more efficient, grass has a history and just cannot be replaced.
In "The Last Pennant Before Armageddon" there is a much more direct connection between baseball and religion than in "The Thrill of the Grass.” Al Tiller has a "prophetic" dream, where he is told by "god" that the National League pennant will be "the Last Pennant Before Armageddon..." While in most cases no one would want to go against religion, because of how everyone from their ancestors down have been practicing religion for a long time, Tiller chooses to play. This shows the power of baseball and competitiveness of the game, which makes it unique.