soherewego:
PLOT
The whole story starts with the narrator (his name is Ray Kinsella in the movie, I found no name in the short story) sitting on his porch "at dusk on a spring evening" when he hears the voice of a ballpark announcer telling him "If you build it, he will come" (511). The obvious question that the reader has with this ambiguous plot beginning is: build what, exactly? and who's going to come? And the story does get to that (what: a baseball diamond. mainly, left field (514), who: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson) but it explains the significance of it (i. e. the whole POINT of the story) in jumpy side-stories. As soon as he finishes his lemonade, he goes into bed, tells his wife what it's going to do, and she says, simply "if it makes you happy you should do it" (512) and then he goes into a story about how wonderful she is for putting up with him - and let's face it, a farmer who is barely breaking even wanting to build a baseball diamond in part of his fields is pretty nuts. He frequently adds anecdotes about his dad as well. these emphasize the importance baseball has to him. He and his dad always bonded over baseball, especially Shoeless Joe Jackson and the "Black Sox Scandal", on which the narrator was raised (514). The last half of the story (516-522) takes place solely in the present, with an interaction between the narrator and Shoeless Joe who has come to play ball in this field. These conversations finalize and conclude the opening statement: "if you build it, he will come." Indeed, in building this "diamond" and taking great care of it (preventing the grass from freezing because of the frost (p.515), asking professionals how to care for it (514)), his dream of encountering this baseball legend happened and because of the anecdotes about his father, we as readers understand just how meaningful this is to the narrator.
POINT OF VIEW
The whole story is told from the narrator's point of view, a first person POV. this is a direct POV too. the narrator is not telling this story as he saw it happen. the story is HIS story. this point of view is incredibly effective in calling attention to the importance that baseball and Shoeless Joe has to this narrator and his father. it makes the relationships between his father and wife more realistic and relateable which further intensifies the ending when Shoeless Joe shows up to play. it's not as if it's being told from an unfeeling, objective point of view. the emotion played on by first-person narrative is imperative for the proper conveyance of the story's meaning.
CHARACTERIZATION
The narrator is characterized almost entirely by his thoughts and actions. in fact, the only physical description given is that he had "ruined his insurance hands" by farming. He likes to make jokes (513), he's very dedicated (he builds a whole diamond, despite dirty looks and possible name calling, 512-13, 516) , and he adores his family (512, 515-16). He even refers to his wife and daughter as his "anyone else" in life (511). The wife is characterized physically: "red hair is short and curly...green eyes of a cat" (516), "a million freckles on her face and arms" (512), "an evil grin...tongue that travels at the speed of light" (516) and also by her actions, as described by the narrator: a series of "It was Annie who got me to"s on 516, her understanding throughout the story. the narrator's father is characterized through the dialogue related to the reader by the narrator. he is passionate about baseball. he has no objection to stating his opinion and was very matter-of-fact in his speech. (514, 516). Lastly, the daughter is also characterized by physical descriptions and her actions as related by the narrator: "an evil grin and bewitching eyes" "a magic about her" "climbs into my lap and watches baseball with me" (516). In essence, those who contribute to the importance of baseball are described more through their words and actions. those who are fundamental to the story but not the central theme are characterized by physical descriptions.
SETTING
The whole story is set in Iowa, the center of the Midwest. being from Indiana (and a family that ADORES baseball), this setting makes perfect sense in terms of the importance baseball had in this family, especially to the men of the family. Annie "understands [her husband] and not always what is happening" (516) in the game, much like the women in families now. this setting makes the story (right down to the love of the Cardinals and hatred of the Yankees, 513) more relateable to modern times. the time frame of this story is at some point after 1951 (the death of Shoeless Joe) (513, 520), likely in the mid- to late-1900s, but not much more detail than that is given. The time period it occurs in does not seem to have much importance to the story itself, beside the fact that it takes place after the death of Shoeless Joe.
THEME
Baseball is life? Is that an acceptable theme? ;]
but really, there are two themes I found in this story. first, the aforementioned love of family. the narrator adores his wife and daughter. he loves(-ed) his father. they all loved him back. this unconditional love, I think, was the most important theme in the whole piece. without the love and support of his family and the passion instilled by it, the second theme would never have been as effective. (cute segue, huh?) THEME 2: hard work and dedication pay off. even if you are crazy. but really, this guy spent seasons of hard work (three, to be specific, 514) to complete this dream he had. he got weird looks from neighbors, I'm sure, his in-laws though he was crazy, and at the end, he was almost despondent because nothing happened. he "waited, and waited, and waited" (516) for something, and then YAY! Shoeless Joe shows up, plays some ball (complains a bit about the lights), compliments the narrator on his field, and all is well. because of his dedication, he was able to build his...
*gasp!* dare I say it?, no, no I can't. too cliché...
whoops, I did it...
nice segue though, huh?
painfully cliche...but you had to do it.
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