Being an athlete myself, I understanding this idea of being on top of the world and never wanting to come down. In this A.E. Housman poem this theme is taken to its full extent. Never coming down and losing your fame is death in “To an Athlete Dying Young”. Not ever letting anyone forget who the true champion is and now was. The main theme of this poem is that champions can not be champions forever unless they die a champion.
In today’s world, champions are praised for winning. They could be an Olympic champion or a member of a state championship team. People come together and praise their hard work, and ability to win. Housman brings the idea of the community coming together and “cheering by” (line 4). This win is not just the athletes but the whole town “The time you won your town the race” (line 1). I am district champion and regional finalist in soccer and know how it feels when you have the whole community behind you. You feel like you are being brought up “shoulder-high” (line 4) when you do win. The people in the stands are as happy as the ones’ winning. The town bringing h...
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.
High school sports can have a tremendous effect on not only those who participate but the members of the community in which they participate. These effects can be positive, but they can also be negative. In the book Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger shows that they are often negative in communities where high school sports “keep the town alive” due to the social pressure. In this way, Friday Night Lights gives insight into the effects of high school football being the backbone of a community, revealing that the fate of the individual football players are inadvertently determined by the actions of the townspeople.
In David Foster Wallace’s essay, “How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart,” he argues that the true talent of star athletes is to completely engross themselves in playing the game. While worshipping the “abstractions like power and grace and control” of Tracy Austin, he notes the contradicting quality, her inability to articulate such abstracts (143). He continues by writing, as people’s expectation while reading the autobiography of a successful athlete is to take a peek at the secrets of their god given gifts, whereas the expectations are rarely met, making spectators, such as himself, disappointed. As a matter of fact, Wallace suspects that the exceptional talent of athletes may be brought out by their apathetic and ignorant nature when it
Most student-athletes grow up as very innocent lads bedecked with tremendous talents and become very promising in sports. Thus, they become rays of hope for their families, neighborhoods, and schools yet to be determined. Like the lamb in William Blake’s poem The Lamb, they are fed “by the stream & o’er the mead; gave…clothing of delight, softest clothing, wooly, bright…making all the vales rejoice.” (Smith 24) Then they are exposed to the life of hard work in which only the fittest survives. This makes them ready for the different challenges in the sports scene.
A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young," also known as Lyric XIX in A
Sports play a large part of an athletic student’s life, weighing heavily on one’s identity. In his essay, “Cut”, Bob Greene relays how he and several others are cut from their middle school sports team because “[they weren’t] good enough” (Greene 58). Because of this cut, Greene and his peers end up pushing harder than ever in other areas of their life. He notes, “an inordinately large proportion of successful men share… the memory
Umphlett, Wiley Lee. “The Death of Innocence: The Paradox of the Dying Athlete.” The Sporting Myth and The American Experience: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. 1975. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1975. 130-45. Rpt. in Children’s Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: n.p., 2005. N. pag. Gale Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
...rk, Michael A. "Winning. How Important Is It in Youth Sports?" Youth Sports Institute: Michigan State University.
On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to.
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
Williams, Peter. The sports immortals: deifying the American athlete. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.. 30-31
The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t teach them reality and educate them to undertake more realistic goals for careers.
are a female? Well, this is the story of a sports icon and his final moments of being a male athlete.
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
Success goes hand in hand with failure. “You win some, you lose some” is a famous quote which epitomises one of the main core’s of life as these two components are apart of every human being’s daily life. In the same way, they are a part of every sporting event. In life everyone strives for success, yet not always do we attain success instantly, often it requires many failures before success can be achieved. Humphrey asserts that sport ‘brings out the worst in people’, and yes, it is within failure where the worst is brought out of people as many people hate the feeling of failure. However, no matter what one fails at, they will always express their bad side, for example: when one fails at their job, when one fails their license and so on. Sports is the best opportunity for people to learn the benefits and necessity of failure, thus allowing their outlook on failure to be change which in turn corrects the behaviour that comes with failure. Sports also allows one to feel the sense of accomplishment that emanates with success. It therefore teaches the sportsmen how to cope better wit...