In Edward Hirsch's poem Execution, the All-American sport of football is used to illustrate how a man's beloved high school football coach is matched up with his greatest opponent yet, something that play books and trick plays cannot defeat, cancer.
The author tells the reader that his coach had 'cancer stenciled into his face,' which obviously implies that the man was diagnosed with the genetic defect, cancer. Though the man, whom we shall call Coach, made special plays and drew up as many plans of action that he could muster and believed in the new options as a way to win an uncertain game, he could not defeat the invading team from upstate. The way that Coach drew the plays and knew that the ?execution? of the plays was flawless, and his team was still demolished is equally compared to a cancer patient?s conferring with doctors on the course to take to beat the foreign body trying to control his body. The ?blasts and sweeps? were the plays that were created to defend from an impending defeat, just as chemotherapy is a preventative of the malignant invader. The coach ?had perfect...
It took a disciplined mind, strategic, and vision to pull a team with this composition, these ego’s, to put aside their self-interest and egocentric tendencies to play as one, play for a nation. The term miracle on ice is one that will forever be linked to Her Brooks’ legacy, the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic team which won the gold medal at Lake Placid, NY. According to Coach Brook’s, the team was mentally tough and goal-oriented. They came from all different walks of life, many having competed against one another, but they came together and grew to be a real close team. He pushed this team really hard. But they had the ability to answer the bell. (Herb Brooks Foundation, N.d.) Here Coach refers to the team or they, as the team they came together for a common goal. For anyone who has watched the movie or read the book it was obvious that it was his leadership was the cause of the team coming together to play as one. He addresses the team in a positive light and himself as the catalyst.
First, Malcolm McBride who is a freshman point guard for the Michigan State Spartans and is from Detroit, Michigan and plays street ball for a living. Being at Detroit, Malcolm didn’t really live in a very nice house and so he had to work hard to support his family and he really cares about his sister who passed away, so he always wants the ball all the time (Ball Hog) to make his sister proud. Malcolm symbolises what could happen when tragedy strikes but
Remember that boy in high school that was the star of the basketball team? He still holds most of the records for the team. He scored more points than anyone else in the school’s history. He never studied much because he was an athlete. His basketball skills were going to take him places. But high school ended and there are no more games to be played. Where is that former all-star now? In his poem “Ex-Basketball Player,” John Updike examines the life of a former high school basketball star. Flick Webb was a local hero, and he loved basketball. He never studied much in school or learned a trade because he was a talented athlete. Now years later, the only job Flick can find is working at the local gas station. He used to be a star, but now he just “sells gas, checks oil, and changes flats” (19-20). The purpose of Updike’s poem is to convince the reader that athletes should also focus on getting a good education.
The Odessa football players couldn't be objective about criticisms of football. Their total self-esteem depended on how they did on Friday night. This was the glorified culmination of their football career: wearing the black MoJo uniform in the stadium under the big lights. Football was more than just a game to them; it was a religion. It "made them seem like boys going off to fight a war for the benefit of someone else, unwitting sacrifices to a strange and powerful god" (Bissinger, p.11). Because football was so meaningful in their lives, to criticize it was to criticize everything they'd worked so hard for and lived for.
Early in the poem “Marginalia,” Collins explores the emotions of readers and annotators and claims “the notes are ferocious, [including] skirmishes against the author raging along the borders of every page” (Lines 1-3). By describing the annotations as “ferocious” and “raging,” it is more easily conveyed that the annotations are predatory towards the author in defense of one’s own frustration in seeking a nonexistent underlying message. Similarly, in “Introduction to Poetry,” Collins is faced with the challenge of persuading readers, “but all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.” (Lines 12-14). By choosing the word “torture,” Collins is enforcing that the annotations are aggressive and readers retain that anger and violence which is forcing literature to give up a meaning that it is not willing to give up or supposed to give up. The word choice clearly portrays the emotions being felt by readers and how they use their annotations to support the need for an extensive interpretation of the reading.
Van Der Galien’s reactions to Mr. Gladwell’s statements were professional, and to clarify on what could be the real objective of football in colleges. Nevertheless, the article reveals that Van Der Galien’s indirectly attempts to demonstrate that college football should be considered as a right, and if taken away is viewed un-American. Recalling memories from his childhood, which expresses the use of emotion, impacts the reader and gives credibility for those hard core “MERICANS.” Furthermore, with the use of quotes by interviewee, Malcom Gladwell, used in Van Der Galien’s article, can be used to back up his opinion . All in all, I believe that after reading this article I would argue that even with it’s casual use of emotion, understanding of the other issue, and quotes successfully outlines Van Der Galien’s opinion on ...
The author stresses certain events or moments in the story to deepen the illusion of peace and tranquility taking the reader further away from the real truth. Knowles uses Finny’s superior leadership skills to invent a summer game called Blitzball and conduct the winter carnival. Both of which were tools describing ideal moments used to distract the reader from reality that there is a battle being fought. Another idyllic event Knowles uses to his advantage was when Gene found his rhythm, ”Buoyed up, I forgot my usual feeling of routine self-pity when working out, I lost myself, oppresses mind along with aching body; all entanglements were shed, I broke into the clear.” (112) Utilizing this the author was able to divert the reader’s attention to the 1944 Olympic games and fool the audience into a false sense about the war.
People with cancer often begin to define themselves based on their experience with their illness, this self-definition through one’s cancer is one that the characters fear in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The novel shows how the characters strive to discover their identities, but despite that are still identified by their illness. The novel also makes the argument that young people with cancer are not any more virtuous or different than other kids rather, they are just normal kids living with an illness. Augustus wants to be remembered and also be more than just a boy who battled cancer, but despite his efforts is still identified by his illness.
Taffler, a character of Timothy Findley's book, The Wars, is a multi-decorated soldier who many people, such as his fellow soldier and the country he fights for, sees him a hero. On the other hand, the poem A.E Housman created "To an Athlete Dying Young" talks about an athlete who died young and offers a different perspective on dying. According to the speaker of the poem, the athlete is “a smart lad” for dying while being in the spotlight (9). The definition of heroism is when a person shows bravery. However, bravery is not the only characteristics of heroism but also doing acts that are helpful and inspire people. Aspects of heroism found on, "To an Athlete Dying Young" applies Taffler, in various ways, such as the requirement for an individual
The first personal traits that Coach Dale was forced to exhibit were his toughness and his assertiveness. On his first night in Hickory he met the men of town in the barbershop who were all willing to provide their experience and insight on the team and how to coach. Coach Dale had enough self confidence to know that none of these “insights” were going to help the Hickory team win basketball games and let them know they weren’t welcome by turning his back and walking out. Additionally, he was forced to demonstrate his toughness twice more on the first day of practice by telling the temporary coach, “Secondly, your days of coaching are over,” and then by standing up to the group of men after he dismissed Buddy from the team. These actions made no friends of the men; however, th...
Edward Hirch's poem Execution touches on various thought provoking and heart touching subjects such as cancer. Hirsch does this by using a common American loved sport football to make connections with the reader. Within the poem Hirsch begins to by building a character for us which was the football Coach who was diagnosed with cancer. Hirsch used an extensive amount of literary strategies in his poem to portray the Coach as a man who had always been a strong fighter and strives for the "perfect execution" and winning in life. The Coach's life is changed drastically when he is loosing his battle with his opponent Cancer which is shattering his hopes and battering him with Cancer's "deadly...power." Feeling inferior to cancer, the Coach devised a "spiderweb of options and counters, Blasts and sweeps..." in a futile attempt to defeat cancer. The Coach knew that his plans were "flawless" and he made sure to use every strategy out there, but just like other cancer patients who try everything they possibly can do to survive, most of the time it isn't enough. In the Coach's case the game that he was fighting against cancer was already lost and all that was left of him was a "wobbly...stunned by illness" man. Even though winning his battle would have been the ideal ending, the author's purpose was to show that Cancer is tireless and that sometimes in life, some battles will be lost no matter how long and hard the fight.
The poem begins by introducing the main figure in the poem, a naturally talented baseball player named Hector Moreno. To the narrator, the game of baseball is more than just a simple game, “it [is] a figure – Hector Moreno” (6). Describing Hector Moreno initially as a figure closely associated with the game of baseball shows just how revered a person Hector is in the narrator’s mind. This image of Hector Moreno is quite concrete, but as the poem continues, the narrator expresses to the reader that his father died sometime during his childhood, as “his [father’s] face no longer [hangs] over the table” (18). Suddenly the image of Hector Moreno is not as concrete as it first appears, especially through the lines leading up to Moreno’s first appearance on the baseball field “in the lengthening shade” (4-5). The shadow of the narrator’s father over the dinner table when he was a boy has now taken the form of Moreno’s figure in the shade over the baseball field since the narrator’s father has died. This initial me...
Americans have become addicted to gaining quick rewards of satisfaction through sports and action because they want to be entertained thoroughly without needing to ponder any hidden meaning so it doesn’t take away from the pure entertainment of the action. In his time, Bradbury was fearful of the way that the television’s empty shows were in invading every home in America. The culture in the novel demands for “everything (to be boiled) down to the rag, the snap ending” (Bradbury 52), leaving nothing for the viewer to ponder; they would rather enjoy themselves “a solid entertainment” (Bradbury 58). The same is true in today’s movies and shows, in which most must contain many action scenes in order to keep the viewer’s attention, and the meaning and symbols must be clearly spelled out for them. This is also why Bradbury includes sports as being the main focus of schools in his story, since th...
The narrator came up with an idea that overpowered his emotions and made him stand up for what he thought was wrong. He said “Over the next few days an idea forms within me, ripening, swelling, pushing everything else into a corner.” (Kinsella 3). This shows his passion for the sport and that he will do as much as he can to right the wrong because it could not be forgotten. The narrator also rebelled against the strike and the artificial turf by gaining accomplices and slowly switching the synthetic grass to a real square of sod. This led a protest against the strike and made the protagonist, and many other community members stand up for what they believe is right. Furthermore, defiance is a theme all through the story by the protagonist rebelling and standing up for what he truly believes in.
...tentially be cured with a one surgery. He uses this story of death to share that life is short. “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by Dogma. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” He uses repetition and parallelism to drive his message home.