THE BROTHERS K By David James Duncan. 645 pp. New York: Doubleday.
THE 19th-century Russian novel has been born again in "The Brothers K," David James Duncan's wildly excessive, flamboyantly sentimental, tear-jerking, thigh-slapping homage to Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy -- and the game of baseball.
For the title isn't merely a spin on "The Brothers Karamazov," though Mr. Duncan makes frequent references to that heavy tome. "K," we are reminded, is also the baseball-scorecard symbol for striking out -- and thus, as Mr. Duncan extrapolates it, for failing, flunking, pratfalling, making a bad situation even worse. But it can have a positive side as well. "To lose your very self for the sake of another," he adds, "is . . . the only way you're ever going to save it."
The strikeout kids are the brothers Chance, four boys of the baby-boom generation born to Hugh Chance, a worldly-wise and weary fastball-slinging minor-league pitcher, and Laura, Hugh's staunchly conservative Seventh-day Adventist wife. Kincaid, the novel's principal narrator; his brothers, Everett, Irwin and Peter, and their twin sisters, Beatrice and Winifred, grow up in Camas, Wash., a working-class town where Hugh supplements his meager baseball salary by working at the local paper mill.
Everyone believes that Papa Chance is destined for the big leagues -- until an accident at the mill crushes the thumb on his pitching hand. Laura declares that this, like all tragedies, is God's will, and that nothing can be done to make it better. The family settles for a life of noisy desperation until a foulmouthed surgeon offers to repair the injured thumb with bones from Papa's toe. Thus Hugh Chance is reborn as his team's pitching coach and "stupid situation reliever," known, of course, as Papa Toe.
For a while, the national pastime, seen on television and from rump-punishing bleachers far from the bright lights of the major leagues, becomes a complex metaphor for all that Papa Chance and his sons hold sacred. Everett, the eldest, even goes so far as to mark the beginning of the turbulent 60's not with the Kennedy assassination or the arrival of the Beatles but with the day Roger Maris became "the assassin of a legend," hitting 61 home runs and breaking Babe
More than any other sports, baseball sits highly on the throne of America. The heroic sport calls for fond memories from stacking tiny baseball figurines to betting large sums of money on the winning player. Behind every swing of the bat lies the recorded scores, broadcasted reports, tales, and legends that all American boys and girls hear. During the 1900s, baseball was everyone's favorite sport and source of entertainment. Films, documentaries and short stories rose to display the magical American love for baseball. In one case, W.P. Kinsella illustrates the prominent theme of love in the baseball fan favorite novel, “Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa” and its film adaption. Ray Kinsella, through his love for baseball and receiving support from his family, is transformed from a mundane farmer into a baseball hero that drives Archibald Wright into discovering a critical passion.
Football was and is a very popular sport in America and has always been a favorite. Erik Fisher plays football because he is great at the sport, hence page 27, “Dad had brought Erik to meet Coach Warner earlier in the summer. Dad had knelt down and held the ball for Erik to drill fifty-yard field goals, one after another, while according to Dad, the Coach’s jaw had dropped lower and lower.” But, Erik played football primarily for and because of the fame. He had never cared about whether he had to hurt someone in order reach the top of the “Erik Fisher Football Dream”. On September 5 (pages 50-94), when Mike Costello dies of lightning, Paul finds Erik and Arthur laughing about how Mike’s hair was singed off. Paul was disgusted. Though Erik and Arthur didn’t kill Mike, their laughter reflects their inner evil and selfish selves. Paul then reflects on his own self and decides to walk a path of truth, unlike Erik. In continuation, Ray Lewis had once said, “Don't walk through life just playing football. Don't walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone's life, that's the ultimate vision, that's the ultimate goal-bottom line.” Erik never had any character or integrity, whether he played sports or not. On the other hand, Paul did have character and integrity. Paul noticed Erik’s evil actions to get higher and higher up the Erik Fisher Football
Throughout his professional career, Jackie Robinson, received criticism for being the first “black” player to play the game. Not only did Jackie Robinson manage to live up to the criticism, he also changed the face of America’s greatest past time forever. With his entrance into the MLB he opened the path for great black players like Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, and Ozzie Smith just to name a few. In crossing the color-barrier in baseball Robinson not only strived as a great player on the field, but also a inspiration to the black community of the field with his humility, and willingness to move forward in a time where blacks were not considered “equal”.
In the reading “Some Lines for a Younger Brother”, the writer brought back her memories of what she remembered from her younger brother. Sue started with the details of when her youngest brother was born. She proceded to talk about how it impacted her family and brother when her father passed away in a car accident. Her family had to move to the Manzanar Relocation Center. When the writer started talking about moving to the relocation center she started bringing in more details, this was also a main point and very big part of the reading.
Sports of old were merely competitive activities rooted in heroism and romanticism. Sports activities today, however, have no such innocence or simplicity. Currently in America, the activities that make up our sports culture is not only the competitive events themselves but the processes and issues that underlie and surround them. Entwined in our sports culture is the giant business of mass broadcasting. Indeed, sports and the media go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, like Mickey and Minnie, Darth Vader and Luke. They are intertwined and depend on each other to continue to grow. Sports media includes television, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, films, and, now, most importantly, social media devices provided by the
He even sets the minor league record for career home runs. After all of this he still fights with all his energy to make the majors, he is one of the team’s leading hitters and mentors the team’s star pitcher, Nuke. Again, despite his efforts the team decides to send him down. At first, he is heartbroken, but then he bounces back on his feet and decides to become a manager. Even though he does not get to achieve his dream of being a major leaguer he adapts and makes the most of his situation. By all measures he fails in almost every aspect of becoming a major leaguer, but in the end he is happy and is doing what he loves. This is a key to the American lifestyle.
Calico Joe,” written by John Grisham, is a novel that can really grab the attention of the reader. The author of this novel, John Grisham, once dreamed of a professional baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals. There are three main characters within the story. There is Joe Castle, a promising 21-year-old rookie for the Chicago Cubs, who is having an unbelievable year and breaking rookie records. There’s Warren Tracey, who is a 34-year-old pitcher for the New York Mets and the father of Paul. The other main character is Paul Tracey, who is also the narrator. Paul Tracey is an 11-year-old who seems to take after his father in the sense of being a rather skilled baseball player. The novel, “Calico Joe,” is about a baseball player with a promising career that gets ended just as it is beginning. This was because he was intentionally hit by Warren Tracey. This novel also shows the aftermath of this tragic event. This novel does an excellent job of revealing its point, as well as revealing certain things that are were relevant in the America of that time and the America of today.
For a 12-year-old Cuban boy living in the Bronx, baseball is his family's only way out and means a better tomorrow. In the novel, Heat by Mike Lupica, baseball represents a way out and a better tomorrow. He loves baseball and idolizes the Yankees pitcher El Grande, who was also Cuban-born. Michael Arroyo is a young boy who has reasons to distrust the representatives of the state must figure out how to continue life on his own terms while navigating the adult world and avoiding both the well-meaning and the badly-intentioned interference of grown-ups. Michael is also the best baseball pitcher on his South Bronx all-star team. Michael's arm is so good, that a rival Little League coach begins requesting proof that he's only 12 and eligible to play. They ask for his father but, recently, his father took a trip to Florida and had a heart attack, killing him. Michael and his 17-year-old brother Carlos, are trying to avoid Child Protective Services until Carlos turns 18.
The 1950’s and the 1960’s saw the rise of the rise of Civil Rights and their respected leaders. This tumultuous period also saw the rise of Civil Rights leaders in sports. Much like how the southern United States was segregated, so was baseball. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. More importantly, Jackie Robinson became involved with the Civil Rights Movement and Organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). It was during these times Jackie Robinson wrote to important people in the United States ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. to President Richard Nixon. Through an analysis of Jackie Robinson’s letters and the impact of the integration of baseball, several truths about the Civil Rights Movement are revealed: the escalation of violence between the Civil Rights Movement and the opposition, the growing pressure on legislators about Civil Rights, and that the integration of African Americans in Major League Baseball impacted future Rights for African Americans.
This passage is important because Michael is ineligible to play because he doesn’t have a birth certificate so he coaches 3rd base. That reflects the theme because he finds a way to stick with baseball, even though he is not allowed to play. It might not seem like it, but this play won the game. The bottom of the lineup was up and everyone thought they would lose the game. The head coach told Bobby to just hit, but Michael gave him a different sign, he told him to bunt down the third base line. Everybody thought the game was over and the chances of going to Williamsport ( Little League World Series) was over. Bobby missed the first two times. Cory Allen, the pitcher thought he couldn’t touch the ball so he lobbed it in as soft as he could. Now instead of bunting Bobby was swinging as hard as he could. The ball didn’t even get past the infield, but he still had a chance. Bobby was running faster than he ever has when the shortstop threw the ball it was wild and it went over the first basebmen, which ment Bobby was
In the racially separated culture of 1919 America, one man stood up to break the color barrier in professional baseball. His name was Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson (Scott). As the first black man drafted to play Major League Baseball he faced frequent personal attacks, game boycotts and even death threats (Scott). But Jackie handled himself with true dignity, never quit and let his talent speak for itself winning several prestigious awards throughout his career (Scott). Jackie lead a race revolution forever changing the game of professional baseball in America and leaving a lasting legacy (History).
I recently saw the film, 42, and I found many connections with our Sociology of Sport class. First and foremost, the movie was about the baseball legend, Jackie Robinson. Jack broke the baseball color barrier and was the first African American player allowed in Major League Baseball. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers beginning in 1947. Jack was a strong, talented player, but he also had a mind of his own. He played with an attitude that would be taunting to other players. When he made it to the Montreal Royals in 1946, he had to quickly get rid of this taunting, smart attitude. He was the only black player in a time of hatred and prejudice in the United States. Although he
David James Duncan’s American novel The Brothers K traces the lives of six siblings growing up and the hardships with which they each struggle. But more importantly, it expresses the adversity the family faces as a whole and how, despite their differences in spirituality, thinking, and desires, they eventually come together to overcome those difficulties and move forward in life. While Kincaid (whom we learn least about) mainly narrates, multiple points of view tell the story with a variety of “primary accounts” such as letters and essays—Duncan strategically employs this technique to reap the benefits of both first person and third person omniscient points of view, in which the
“In literature the double is a result of the author's conscious or unconscious desire for a wider range of action, possibilities of behavior for his hero that go beyond the morally acceptable, and this wish will create itself in the form of a double, or anti-hero” writes Joyce Carol Oates in her piece “Tragic and Comic Visions in The Brothers Karamazov.” Just as Oates suggests that doubles are created in order for an author to extend a character's range of believable actions, doubles exist to bring about change in their original forms. Citing Mikhail Bakhtin's criticism of Dostoyevsky's creation technique, I intend to align the author's intentions with the intentions of his characters, and explain that due to the author's need for a wider
Greg Reeder, author of "Same-Sex Desire, Conjugal Constructs, and the Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep,” proposes a theory that the tomb art found in the Ancient Egyptian tombs of manicurists Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep suggests the two maintained an intimate relationship with one another. Previously, archaeologists had theorized that the artwork might have indicated the manicurists were either close friends or twins, but considering recent research from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Dynasties, Reeder proposes the two men were lovers (Reeder 2000:193). Reeder’s proposal that the two manicurists were lovers is plausible and well supported by evidence, but his writing has a few flaws that make it seem less than credible.