TheArt of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)
TheBook Cover
Description of main characters
Thereader is introduced to the main character in the story is aseventeen year old Henry Skrimshander. He is a young boy from ahumble family in South Dakota and had only one wish of joiningWestish College. Although his passion is sports, Henry Skrimshanderhas been depicted to having poor physique and mostly skinny. Theother main character is a hugely built and masculine hunk by nameMike Schwartz. Mike Schwartz is a taskmaster, catcher and teamcaptain.
Theother prominent character who brings out the main theme of the storyis Owen Dunne, who is also seen to be quite athletic however he isan openly gay student at Westish college and a roommate to HenrySkrimshander. Henry’s sister has also been seen to be prominent inmany scenes of the book. Others are minor characters, Henry’smother, father, sister, team captains and Dunne’s boyfriends.
AsI read the book, I envisioned a Hollywood star, Will Smith actingthis character in film. This is because Will Smith likes sports anddoes not have a huge body, as shown below.
WillSmith
Ialso envisioned Steve Austin acting the as the masculine hunk by nameMike Schwartz. This is because Steve Austin is masculine, as shownbelow
SteveAustin
Most important scenes
Thefirst important scene is where the reader learns about the maincharacter’s obsession with baseball. The reader understands thatalthough Henry is young and education is readily available, he hasdisplaced all his other life choices and fully paid all attention tobaseball. He is a young boy from a humble family in South Dakota andhad only one wish of joining Westish College. Westish college is atypical 21stcentury college school that has been demonstrated to be a squaint-ivyLeague place that is located in Wisconsin’s baseball glove.
Theonly thing that Henry Skrimshander owned was a “TheArt of Fielding”which is a philosophical sports instructions book. This book is amanual that is attributed to a fictional legendary known as AparicioRodriquez. Although his passion is sports, Henry Skrimshander hasbeen depicted to having poor physique and mostly skinny. The secondmost important scene is when the moment that Henry finally makes toit Westish college.
Thetheme of class has been incorporated well in the development of thestory through the character of Henry. Just like in other novels like“I am Charlotte Simmons” Henry has been depicted to be anambitious seventeen year old with the passion of fulfilling his onegoal in life. In addition, just as the character in ‘I am CharlotteSimmons”, Henry is also a virgin who does not drink nor indulge indrugs. The first day he went to Westish college, he wondered whetherhe belonged there as he experienced totally new environment with newpeople the author quotes” he couldn’t really fathom imagining thepeople of Westish College as the whole thing was intimidating really”(Harbach 38). The third important scene is the moment that Henrymeets with his roommate Owen Dunne.
Thesis development
Thetopic that I would explore from this novel is that one of delusionalpersonal goals. Therefore the thesis that seems most appropriateaccording to this topic would be this paper will explore personalgoals as perceived by individuals themselves from the actual realitybased on the evidences of their circumstances. In this regard, themost appropriate quotes that support this thesis statements are “TheArtwas the only book he’d brought with him, the only book Henry knewdeeply.” The second quote would be “He didn’t seem to movefaster than any other decent shortstop would, and yet he arrivedinstantly, impeccably, as if he had some foreknowledge of where theball was headed.” The last quote that would be employed to supportthesis statement is “People thought becoming an adult meant thatall your acts had consequences in fact it was just the opposite.”These three quotes will be used to illustrate how delusional the maincharacter was as far as his passion was concerned.
Relevance to 21st century texts
Thetheme of class has been incorporated well in the development of thestory through the character of Henry. Just like in other novels like“I am Charlotte Simmons” Henry has been depicted to be anambitious seventeen year old with the passion of fulfilling his onegoal in life. In addition, just as the character in ‘I am CharlotteSimmons.” Henry is also a virgin who does not drink nor indulge indrugs. The first day he went to Westish college, he wondered whetherhe belonged there as he experienced totally new environment with newpeople the author quotes” he couldn’t really fathom imagining thepeople of Westish College as the whole thing was intimidating really”(Harbach 38). However as the plot progresses, Henry is seen been ableto easily and slowly acclimatize to his new surroundings.
Final conclusion
Harbachhas therefore successfully been able to highlight the modern collegeeducation exploring the current themes of friendship, sexuality,sexual orientation and the goals of any college student. This novelreflects the current issues facing the 21stcentury with the main idea integrating all diverse individuals withdifferent race, color or sexual orientation in the society. In lightto the story of this book, the one thing that seems unattractive incollege life is the rampant use of drugs and frequent sex. Therefore,it is important for the school to introduce sex and drug education tothe students as a compulsory course of study. This might inspire somechange of lifestyle in college students.
WorksCited
HarbachChad. TheArt of Fielding.New York. Little Brown Company. 2011. Print