The Natural: Day 4

Back in groups for 5-10 minutes to check-in ...

• Roy — Grace, Cameronn, Luc, 
• Pop — Ruby, Wes, Maddy
• Judge — Trevor, Emily, Paul
• Memo —Patchy, Ben L, Nick, Beth
• Whammer/Bump — Ben E, Kate, Colin
• Max Mercy — Amanda, Noah, Sandy

Once all is said and done ...

**Imagine your character was a student at MA. Describe a typical day for your character. Classes, friend, group, after-school activities.

**Comments and grades are coming up shortly, so write one comment for your character from any teacher you like. You can imagine your character in any grade.
-----------------------------------------------------
Maybe?? Gehrig's Farewell Speech

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. 105-106/110: 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" (107/111). 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. How are Roy & Memo are like Gatsby & Daisy? Odysseus & the Sirens?

5. Read aloud: "He woke in the locker room, stretched out on a bench. ...All night long he waited for the bloody silver bullet" (126-8/133). 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?