Conflicting Attitudes In “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike and “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman‚ each author has a different attitude toward his character. John Updike’s attitude toward his character Flick is of disappointment and pity. “Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps-“(1). He believes that Flick should not be employed at a gas station because his talent with basketball is so much better than pumping gas. He does not believe that he blends in at the gas station; he believes
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Essay: "To An Athlete Dying Young" vs. "Ex-Basketball Player" “To An Athlete Dying Young” and “Ex-Basketball Player” share the lives of two very different athletes. Both experience success in their lives‚ but one dies with his glory while the other lives past his days of glory and works at a gas pump where he is not recognized. The poems discuss the importance of having glory and keeping that glory as long as possible. Through the poems the readers learn the benefits of dying young as well as the
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A Reading of Updike’s “Ex-Basketball Player” The purpose of this essay is to inform the reader about a poem by John Updike‚ called “Ex-Basketball player”. The speaker in the poem talks about a man named Flick Webb and his apathetic life. He informs the reader about Flick Webb’s exceptional talent as a basketball player in high school. Towards the end of the poem the realization is that Flick Webb’s exceptional basketball talent had been berried under his reality of life. In the eyes of the
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give their children what is most necessary to achieve in life. In Ex-Basketball Player by John Updike and Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller the main characters lack self-esteem and cannot fulfill their dreams primarily because of their lack of familial support. More specifically‚ the protagonists‚ Flick Webb and Biff Lowman‚ suffer a life of failure and mediocrity as they experienced the pinnacles of their lives at far too young an age‚ and from an unsupportive family. The Authors develop strong
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Many people have a difficult time letting go of their past. When you can’t let go of your past‚ you can’t move forward into the future. In the “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike‚ Flick Webb finds himself holding onto the past and not being able to move on. Flick’s disappointment in the present causes him to try and relive the glory days of life that he had in the past. To explore Flick’s disappointment in the present‚ Updike utilizes setting‚ tone‚ and irony. In the first stanza‚ Updike
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Die with fame‚ not without. A.E. Housman can concur. The poems‚ “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike and “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman both concentrate on what occurs after an athlete’s days of glory. Most of them seek fame‚ but only a few will achieve it. Their goal is not to die within their days of glory‚ it is to live on and have their fame live for an eternity. Unfortunately‚ in today’s society athletes mainly want the monetary success that comes along fame. They quickly become
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Pearls Before Swine Where you are can explain who you are. Why you are in a particular place and how you got there tell an outside observer about your decisions and the inferred motives behind those decisions. In “Ex-Basketball Player‚” John Updike introduces a character whose surroundings emulate his success in life: Flick Webb. Flick’s momentary success did not remain later in his life. Because setting partially defines a person‚ Updike uses it‚ along with tone and irony to remind readers that
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"To an Athlete Dying Young" Many people fear dying at a young age. Along with that come fears of not being able to fulfill all their dreams‚ not being able to live a prosperous life and take full advantage of their time on earth. It is a sad fate that is uncontrollable by any human‚ and to view a young and premature death in a positive light would be horrendous to many. However‚ Alfred Edward Housman does exactly that in his poem "To an Athlete Dying Young." Housman implies in his poem that it is
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The elegy “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman follows the speaker as he mourns the death of a highly celebrated‚ young athlete. Housman asserts for one to achieve eternal greatness in the minds of his admirers he must die closely after reaching his peak performance or face the prospect of having is glory fade. Housman employs a distant‚ observant tone almost as if the poem’s speaker is a close friend or confidant of the athlete. The speaker chooses to glorify the young athlete’s death‚ focusing
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commonly known as A. E. Housman‚ was an author and an English classical poet who wrote a multitude of poems that truly made an impact on the world. Housman was born on March 26th‚ 1859 in a small house on the outskirts of Worcestershire‚ England‚ later dying at the age of 77 on April 30th. Housman began his academic journey at a small school‚ later proceeding to attend St. Johns College in Oxford. At an early age‚ Housman’s academic power was prevalent‚ winning multiple awards for his poetry before going
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