The Believability of John Grisham’s Bleachers Essay

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

By writing The Devil in the White City in the form of a dual-narrative, Larson brings both stories to a level of excellence that neither could reach on its own. The interesting and informative chapters detailing the fair are complemented nicely by the suspenseful and thrilling installments of America’s first serial killer.

One unique approach to developing self worth for the students at Giddings was the organization of a football program where they actually played surrounding schools. Hubner saw that this not only was a great release of aggression but also created a sense of trust and camaraderie among students based on mutual respect. Ironically, it was on the football field where they learned that there are alternatives to the violence they usually used to resolve differences. Unlike many football teams with teenage boys, winning was not the ultimate goal for the players at Giddings. In fact, they

In Hank Hill's short essay What in the Name of High School Football? He implies that some High schools focus too much on each of their athletic accomplishments and not enough on the visual and performing arts. Hill supports this claim with his word choice and diction. Hills purpose is to point out the unfair and lopsided views of society when it comes to extracurricular activities. Hill takes on an almost upset tone in order to expose the major problem that continues to affect society today. Based on Hills tone word choice and topic this piece seems to be directed at the school administrators and high school students.

Bissinger, in Friday Night Lights, is able to successfully argue against the overarching importance and harmful practices of football. Bissinger focuses on the negative consequences football has on the town of Odessa, highlighting injuries, unethical conduct, and the deprioritizing of academics. By using various forms of rhetoric, Bissinger is able to make the reader reevaluate their position concerning football and high school sports in general. In addition, the accusatory tone of the novel, towards football, further brings attention to the wrongs of football and the culture that comes with it. Through his mastery of rhetoric, Bissinger advances his view about the dangers of football in America to his

Larson’s, The Devil in the White City, recounts a defining time period for America. Larson sheds light on the ageless conflict: Good v.s. Evil, as he recounts the events that took place at the fair that changed America. With America falling behind in global dominances and its need to strive, Daniel Burnham tries to successfully construct the Chicago World's fair and hopes it will spark the turn of the century. As Burnham tries to builds up the White City, and while H. H. Holmes flourished in the dominant Black City, Larson takes the reader on a tour of both cities. As Holmes lives in the shadows of the Black City, he successfully murders many people without any suspicion. Holmes’s ability to manipulate, his charisma, and his bravado marks

Odessa’s small size makes it complicated for people to lead lives separate from football. Most everyone can say that they have taken part in the football phenomenon, the Permian Panthers. Jim Lewallen may not be a parent, but football is what he lives for. Being a retiree, Lewallen has been long removed from the highschool scene and yet he still relies on football as a pastime. He takes satisfaction in the players accomplishments as if they are his own children. It is what he looks forward to and what keeps his life interesting and prides himself in knowing all the plays. While anxiously awaiting the beginning of the season Jim explains to Bissinger, “That football is just something that keeps me going’. You know the kids’ moves, you know ‘em personally. It’s just like your own kids”(41). The indirect characterization of Lewallen in this scene leaves us to infer what he is like on a deeper level, leading the reader to conclude that Permian football is the focal point of Lewallen’s life. It presents him as protective, almost fatherly. The intensity he feels is proven when readers are informed that the players are like his

The story is set in 1968 in Oakland, California three young girls Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern who leave their father in Brooklyn to go Oakland to meet their mother who abandoned them. Oakland at this time is a boiling pot with political and racial turmoil, with the Black Panthers at the head of a movement fighting for civil rights. In a historical context many readers at this age level have not been exposed to the many freedom fighter organizations like The Black Panthers, middle school students are usually only exposed to a limited number of figures in the civil rights movement like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have on a small city in Texas.

Is it possible for a fictional novel to have the characteristic elements to make the reader believe that it is nonfiction? In the novel, Bleachers by John Grisham, we witness a disoriented former high school all-star quarterback make a return to his hometown after many years as he tries to figure out the feelings he has for his former Coach. The novel takes place in a small town called Messina, where the biggest events to happen are high school football on a Friday night. Other than Spartan football, the small populated, Messina does not have much going for them besides hearing about the latest news and gossip spread with the locals. Neely Crenshaw is the main character focused in the story. A once high school hero for breaking

Sustaining the ambitions of not only themselves but the alumni and town of Odessa, Texas is a lot to ask from a young adult. That’s exactly what Permian football provides to the people of Odessa, where the post economic boom of the oil business has left the town in a racially tense, economic crisis. The lights on Permian High School’s football field are the only sanctuary for the west Texas town. Socially and racially divided, Odessa’s mass dependence on high school football constructs glorified expectations for the football team to temporarily disguise the disappointments that come with living in a town tagged as the “murder capital” of

One of the most important elements of this story is the setting. Taking place in the drug-plagued, poverty-stricken, and frustrated streets of Harlem in the 1950s, the setting

Sports are a significant part of society and spectators enjoy particular events regardless of the type. However, there are many players who develop special working and social relationships with whom they are participating regardless of the type of sport. The relationship and how people interact with one another can be the determination of how successful a team can be. The particular film based on a true story that I chose is titled When the Game Stands Tall. This film consists of a high performing football team of De La Salle High School in the state of California. Jim Caviezel portrays the head coach (Bob Ladouceur) as a man with such vision and passion that goes beyond the fundamental principles of coaching the game of football. The football team had won 151 games without being defeated which is the highest winning record a team has had in the game of football. The film shows the internal struggles of the players in their lives as people, and how they perform on the field. It also shows the external tragic difficulties that they face while they attend and play for De Le Salle High School. In the movie, the head coach helps the students/players by not only coaching them but also showing them how to live a flourishing life by committing to endure difficult life situations and the way to overcome them. He helps teach the principles of brotherhood and companionship with the team that they build. In the movie, the head coach and the staff had taught the players

Are things tough all over? The book The Outsiders written by S. E. Hinton, translates prejudice leads to wrong conclusions, violence, and oppression by using strong characters, symbolism, and compelling events. The Outsiders is a book about and narrated by a fourteen year old, greaser named Ponyboy Curtis, who lives with his two brothers Sodapop and Darry after their parents that died in a car accident. This book takes the reader through the world of a teenage “hoodlum” written by a woman, from a young boy’s point of view. During a small brawl at the park one of the Soc gets killed by one of Ponyboy’s friends, Johnny. Which sends Ponyboy and Johnny into hiding.

In order to truly appreciate the overall beneficial influence football has had on American culture between the 1890’s and 1930’s, we cannot turn a blind eye to the negative obstacles football has overcome. In the early years of development, football was played similarly to rugby and universities played by different rules, making standardization within the sport a difficult task to accomplish. One of the major problems observed during the infancy of football was the sheer violence witnessed on the field. Mass play was the common play style during the first years of football in which the entire offensive force would focus on one spot of the defense; the offense was determined to go through the defense rather than go around them. The raw power behind these plays lead to serious injuries as well as the death of a player in the early 1900’s. This disastrous event deterred numerous universities from playing football out of fear of a repeat of events. Following more serious injuries