Verified Document

Ex-Basketball Player By John Updike Analyzes A Essay

Related Topics:

¶ … Ex-Basketball Player" by John Updike analyzes a former high-school basketball's life after he has graduated and introduced to the "real world." "Ex-Basketball Player" allows the reader to empathize with Flick Webb, the poem's subject, and see how Flick's life has changed and how it still remains the same. "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden explores similar issues of change and focuses on the sacrifices made in order to live life. A metaphor of Flick's basketball career can be seen in the layout of Pearl Street where the gas station he works at is located. The layout of the street echoes the movements a basketball player. Like a basketball player would maneuver a basketball court, traversing from one side to the other, stopping to decide his next move before finally taking a shot, "Pearl Avenue runs past the high-school lot,/Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off/Before it has a chance to go two blocks,/At Colonel McComsky Plaza" (Updike, 1993). "Berth's Garage/Is on the corner facing west, and there,/Most days, you'll...

In this context, Updike (1993) contends that Flick and Berth's Garage are mutually dependent on each other for success like players on the same team.
The personification used in the second stanza helps to further reinforce the basketball symbols in Flick's everyday life. The imagery used in the second stanza influences the personification of gas pumps, which are given human attributes. Updike (1993) writes, "Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps -- / Five on a side, the old bubble-head style,/Their rubber elbows hanging loose and low./One's nostrils are two S's, and his eyes/An E. And O." Through this imagery, Updike allows the reader to see how Flick continues to navigate the proverbial basketball court of his everyday life.

In the subsequent stanzas, the tone of the poem shifts from nostalgic to remorseful. The focus shifts to Flick and his accomplishments, as opposed to Flick's role as at Berth's Garage. The immediate change can be seen in the first line of the…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Hayden, R. (1966). Those Winter Sundays. Collected Poems of Robert Hayden. Ed. Frederick

Glaysher.

Updike, J. (1993). Ex-Basketball Player.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Basketball Psychological and Sociological Aspects of Basketball
Words: 1364 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Basketball Psychological and Sociological Aspects of Basketball Basketball is not only a sport but a massive cultural institution, both in the United States and abroad. Over the past three decades, the sport has grown exponentially in global popularity, and the representation of basketball players as changed as well. As with any cultural institution of similar influence, it is clear that there are many psychological and sociological effects. Not only is basketball a

Basketball Game Coverage Sports if I Were
Words: 978 Length: 3 Document Type: Assessment

Basketball Game Coverage Sports If I were to imagine myself as a sports journalist covering a basketball game, I would want to provide coverage for games that take place during "March Madness," a term used to describe a competition among NCAA universities for champion standing. March Madness is an annual event that is as much of a sports tradition as it is a media and journalism tradition. Covering a game in NCAA March

Basketball, More Than Any Sport Played on
Words: 1292 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Basketball, more than any sport played on a major scale in America, characterizes the plight of Blacks in their struggle to acquire equality as a race. Basketball has proven to be an area of society where Blacks have not only obtained equality but have managed to demonstrate a remarkable superiority. On the confines of a small competitive surface, Blacks have exhibited their talent, their creativity, and their physical energy. In his

Motor Development Coaching Girls Basketball Experiment the
Words: 451 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

Motor Development Coaching Girls Basketball Experiment The purpose of this experiment was to conduct a muscular fitness test to access the upper and lower body strength of female girls who are on the basketball team. Muscle strength can be thought of as the amount of force that an individual can exert in a single muscle contraction which can be accessed through circuit training. Muscle endurance is also a consideration and refers to

Sociology in Basketball This Informative
Words: 2312 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Scully and Noll dispute that the dispersion of victory could be calculated by evaluating the real performance of a group to the performance that would have happen if the group had the greatest degree of competitive equilibrium in the logic that all players were equivalent in playing potency. A smaller amount of the variation of real association performance and presentation from that of the model league however the better

How to Motivate Basketball Players
Words: 7312 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

Motivate N.B.A basketball players The game of basketball, primarily, involves the continuous struggle of the teams for about 45 minutes in defending their sides, while striking the ball at the demarcated floor, hanging on and throwing efficiently to the basket. The team success is intensified through reducing their faults and making the opponent team to commit errors. Contrary to the game of football, basketball seems to involve many such faults.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now