Aparicio Rodriguez's 'The Art Of Fielding'
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is a coming of age novel centered around the fictional Westish College baseball team, but is not truly about baseball at all. Instead, baseball serves a larger purpose than just the subject matter which links all of the characters; it is a metaphor for life and the American dream. Even the title is allusive to a larger meaning. To the main character, Henry Skrimshander, The Art of Fielding by Aparicio Rodriquez is his bible and baseball is his religion. He lives by it, suggesting that The Art of Fielding by Aparicio Rodriguez, the book within this book, and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach both transcend baseball and are representative of something larger than the game itself, whether it is the strive
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Without it, the characters would not have any interactions. It not only brings these characters together, but joins the Westish community as a whole. Nothing has excited the campus as much as the Harpooner’s run at a national championship since Herman Melville’s visit to Westish in the 1880s. It brings the students and faculty together, as they all get behind the team and root for their victory. This power of baseball is seen throughout history as well. Whether it was when Jackie Robinson’s desegregation of baseball mirrored America’s changing ideals and united the African American community with a great civil rights victory, or after September 11, 2001, when baseball represented America’s resiliency and brought together and entire nation to celebrate beloved traditions after a national tragedy. Baseball has always had the ability to bring people together more than other sports, because it is “America’s Game.” In this novel, it brings together the entire school, while also showing the deep, familial-like bond that is formed between the players. Baseball requires everyone on the team, no matter how skilled the best player is. This results in each player having to trust one another to do their job and contribute to the team. There is not another sport in which this is so evident. The sacrifice bunt, Henry’s favorite baseball custom, is the best example. Henry states, “when a player hit a homerun, his teammates were at liberty to ignore him, but when he sacrificed himself to move a runner, he received a long line of high fives.” So is the case with life, with American’s valuing teamwork and
Without it, the characters would not have any interactions. It not only brings these characters together, but joins the Westish community as a whole. Nothing has excited the campus as much as the Harpooner’s run at a national championship since Herman Melville’s visit to Westish in the 1880s. It brings the students and faculty together, as they all get behind the team and root for their victory. This power of baseball is seen throughout history as well. Whether it was when Jackie Robinson’s desegregation of baseball mirrored America’s changing ideals and united the African American community with a great civil rights victory, or after September 11, 2001, when baseball represented America’s resiliency and brought together and entire nation to celebrate beloved traditions after a national tragedy. Baseball has always had the ability to bring people together more than other sports, because it is “America’s Game.” In this novel, it brings together the entire school, while also showing the deep, familial-like bond that is formed between the players. Baseball requires everyone on the team, no matter how skilled the best player is. This results in each player having to trust one another to do their job and contribute to the team. There is not another sport in which this is so evident. The sacrifice bunt, Henry’s favorite baseball custom, is the best example. Henry states, “when a player hit a homerun, his teammates were at liberty to ignore him, but when he sacrificed himself to move a runner, he received a long line of high fives.” So is the case with life, with American’s valuing teamwork and