Shoeless Joe Essay, Research Paper

1. KINSELLA, W. P. Shoeless Joe. Ballantine books: New York: 1982

2. The story starts when Ray Kinsella, the main character, is talking about his hero Shoeless Joe Jackson who once played left field in baseball. When Ray went to the ball park he was hearing, in his head, the voice of the announcer that was saying If you build it, he will come. Ray started building his dream ball park in his cornfield. He remembered the last time Joe played major league baseball in 1920 and then he was suspended for life, along with seven of his compatriots, for his part in throwing the 1919 World Series. Ray was always sitting in the left field bleachers. After a couple of games were played at the ball park, Shoeless Joe told Ray to start a new league. Joe was going to call up all of his compatriots to play ball. Ray said he would find a friend that never made it to the major league. Ray had travelled to Iowa city to get his friend J.D. Salinger who then went to Fenway park with him. Three weeks later Ray came home, J.D. came with him. J.D. was very impressed when he saw the park. Now, Ray had the best team in the new league.

3. The significance of the title is that Shoeless Joe was one of the greatest baseball players of all times. Shoeless Joe became a symbol of the powerful over the powerless. Shoeless Joe did not play with running shoes because he could not find a small shoe size to fit him. That is why he wears the name Shoeless Joe.

4. The first impression I get from the main character, Ray Kinsella, is that he is a man who loves baseball. He lives for it. He is a great father and husband. He plays ball with his family and he brings them to ball games. He likes to dream. He could sit all day long and dream. He also likes to improve the things that he loves to build. He worked hard at making a better baseball park.

5. Ray s character does not really have a big transformation. He has to travel to Iowa to see if he could bring his friend to play ball. I think that he displayed some courage. I would not have the courage to do what he did. He is a person that believes in himself. He does not get intimidated by what people think of him.

6. If you build it, he will come, the announcer repeated in scratchy Middle American, as if his voice had been recorded on and old 78-r.p.m. record. I picked this passage from the book because it really caught my eye. It made me think that you should never give up on your dreams.

7. I really like this book. It showed me that dreams can be dreams or they can be real life. You should never give up on your dreams. Someday, the dreams will come true if you believe in that dream. The other view on life I got from reading this book is that you don t have to win all the time when you play sports. Most of the time, it is not the players that get blamed for a losing streak, it is the coach. The players should not get blamed for losing. Every team loses sometimes. The players don t give up because they find something in their heart that tells them to do their best and not to give up.