Identify a particular image that stood out for you in Chapter 1. Describe in detail what you envision and why you think it struck you. End your post w/ a question.
The image that stood out for me was the part in the book where Reuven is standing on second base waiting for the ball and he gets run over by the player on the Danny's team. As a baseball player, I envision the throw from the outfielder getting to Reuven at about the same time as the baserunner. Reuben is knocked over, and falls on the cement which would hurt no matter how hard he fell. Receiving a throw from an outfielder is one of the most vulnerable positions an infielder can be in because most of the time he is not able to see the runner.
This image stands out to me because I was surprised that the Hasidic team would teach their kids to play in a dirty way. In a way, this sums up the whole chapter of the Hasidic team being "killers", as was suggested earlier in the chapter. They were willing to do whatever to win, because they thought Reuven's team was apikorosim. Why is the team taught to be so competitive that they turned into killers in order to win?
I think it is your approach to this chapter is interesting because you see it as a baseball player. I would not think about this scene the same way you did because I didn’t know it was a vulnerable position for the infielder. I do however think that it is strange that they are playing on cement. I understand that Reuven may have been in the base path, but Dov did not have to be that violent, and it didn’t really seem to be Reuven’s fault, so I am surprised the Umpire didn’t issue some sort of warning. It must be a real softball field, but why would they make it out of cement. I think this is an important scene because it shows their brutality.
This shows the “killer” aspect of their team, but it doesn’t show the killer side of Danny. It was only Danny and Dov who were good at baseball, and were “killers” because none of the others could play. I think Danny’s team would have done much worse if he and Dov hadn’t tried to hurt their opponents because no one else could do anything, so I think it was a winning strategy. I bet it was partly to show that their version of Judaism was better. What I wonder is did the rabbi have anything to do with turning them into “killers” because he seemed to appreciate it. I think he did. I also want to know if Danny’s team had a scouting report on Reuven because it seemed like they figured it out as they went along. I don’t know how Danny and Reuven will become friends after this game though.
This image of Reuven getting knocked over when he was trying to jump up and catch the ball from outfield shows the competitiveness that the "killers" had. The fact they would want to win at all costs. I am a little confused on why a bunch of really religious Jewish people who think they are closer to God, than everyone else, would want to win at baseball. Does this make them look superior in any way? Was it just because they were playing Reuvens team? It seems like thats the way they play against everyone though because of their reputation. I think that the reason why they are so competitive at baseball is somehow they think that this will show how they are better than the surrounding Jewish towns. The team plays dirty. For example, Danny tries to hit the ball at the pitcher every at bat. The "killers" have a win at all cost philosophy.
One image that stood out for me in this chapter was before the game when Reuven’s team was warming up, waiting for their opponents to show. I envision the pitcher practicing with the catcher; the infield throwing a ball to each other, fielding grounders, fly balls, and line drives; and the outfielders throwing amongst themselves. I also imagine one player with the bat and ball at home plate hitting different shots for the fielders to warm up. I thought it was odd that each team warms up for the game at their home field. I also envision the confidence that comes with having a winning record. This was not the most important scene, but it reminded me of the times I have gone to see professional baseball games, and arrived early in time to watch them warm up.
I think that this particular passage struck me because it is relatable to me, reminding me of the anticipation I feel before every sporting event. Warming up gets you into the mentality of the sport you will play, but it is not somber, you joke around with your teammates. Normally, you size up the other team, but in this book, the teams warm up separately. I wonder why. Also, do you think baseball will be a recurring theme in this book?
Although this image did not particularly stand out to me, I was surprised that the other team was not there to watch Reuven's team warm up. In baseball especially, because only one team can be on the field at once, warm ups are the time to size up the other team, to see if they are good or not. During the yeshiva's warm up Reuven was told by his friend that the other team were "killers". Reuven doesn't believe him because they are not good at fielders, but Reuven was also unsure because he had not seen them hit. He is pondering this while, as you mentioned, he is getting ready for the game, so he has a lot to think about.
I think baseball will come up in the book again, but will probably not have as big of an effect on Reuven, or his face, than this incident will.
I really thought that the end of the chapter was the part that spoke to me. I don’t like baseball because there is not much athleticism, and so I don’t exactly associate it with competitiveness, but this is the other side of baseball, which is a bunch of very competitive athletes. The picture of Reuven sitting helplessly while his team lost them the game, particularly because they were mean, and he wanted to beat them because of that, made me relate, even though he did not seem to feel bad, he seemed to feel helpless. His glasses were a theme throughout the chapter, with him needing to bend them down, and so ending with them breaking seemed significant. His oblivion seemed odd to me, but it was probably because he was so caught up in the game and its importance, he couldn’t think about anything else.
This moment stuck with me because it shows the competitiveness of the game because the game didn’t stop when Reuven got injured, and the other team did nothing about it. Even Reuven’s coach didn’t do anything until after the game. But, it also did not seem that strange when I was reading it that he was just sitting on the bench for the rest of the game, and it did not matter because he had caught Danny’s hit, which was the most important thing. What was the other coach thinking-- now we can win the game? It doesn’t matter because he is a apikorsim? How does Danny become a protagonist?
I also noticed the theme of his glasses, and I think Reuven didn’t really want much attention when he got hurt because he was so focused on the game. Especially that moment when he described how it seemed like the rest of his life was insignificant and the field was like the world for a minute, or something along those lines. I also wondered what the rabbi was thinking, but He didn’t seem worried at all or seem to care much. The other team seemed to think they were more righteous or better in general than Reuven’s team. However, I almost get a sense that Reuven and Danny with become friends later on.
One image that stood out for me was when Reuven Malter caught the baseball that Danny Saunders hit. I envision the baseball going at an unusually fast speed and flying right past the pitchers head. Malter uses all of his force to get as high off the ground as possible to catch the baseball. I can also imagine the sound that the baseball makes when it hits Malters glove and the silence and shock after he catches it and gets not only Saunders but Dov Shlomowitz out.
This scene really stuck with me because it seemed like catching Saunders ball was almost impossible but somehow Malter managed to do it. It was also a memorable moment for Malter and his team. Malter was the first person to catch one of Danny Saunders balls. Another thing that stood out with me was that the rabbi had looked up from his book. The rabbi had rarely looked up from his book during the entire game. Why did the rabbi rarely look up from his book during the game?
This stood out to me as well. In particular the sound the ball made in Reuven’s glove. I also imagine the pain he must of felt as the ball jerked his wrist backwards. As for the rabbi, I’m not really sure why he looked up when he did. Maybe he wanted to see what the commotion was about. Danny Saunders the star player had just gone up to bat. Possibly the rabbi wanted to see what happened. Maybe he heard the sound a ball being caught and did not believe it. Had someone really caught Danny’s ball? I can image that once he realized what had happened he was shocked and didn’t know what to say or do… so he just kept reading. I can only imagine how upset Danny and Dov must have been. They thought they were safe, no one had ever caught one of Danny’s balls and then Reuven did. Reuven must have felt immense pride as did the rest of his team. But then the pride was overshadowed by pain.
I think the reason the Rabbi rarely look up was he did not care. I don’t think he wanted to be there for any reason other to supervise the boys. He didn’t care what the outcome was of the game and would much rather be reading and, so he did.
The image that really stood out to me was the picture of the other team arriving. I feel as though Reuven’s team felt very intimidated. The other team was so put together and disciplined where Reuven’s team seamed rag-tag. I see the fear stuck faces of the boys on Reuven’s team. Boys not in uniform, all dressed differently. I imagine Reuven’s teammates with dirt and sweat on their faces and the other team looking very clean and poised. They must have felt inferior next to them. Overshadowed by the other team’s presentation. I think the other team was feeling very confident. I find the whole picture of the rabbi sitting reading a book in the middle of a baseball game amusing. He seems so out of place and completely unaware of what is happening around him. Even when Dov plowed Reuven over he barely looked up. I wonder how he got appointed as their “coach”. I also think it is strange that he does not say anything to his boys about playing so rough. Obviously his boys where hurting the Reuven’s team but he didn’t bother to tell his boys to go easy. Did he not care?
I do not think that rabbi did not care.I think he just had enough confidence in his team to win. As for when his team was hurting Reuven's team, I think that he did not mind if that happened. Both teams have a drastically different outlook on religion then the other, and one of the messages that you get in this chapter is that the rabbi's team very strongly and openly disagrees with the way Reuven's team practices religion. Because of this, I think the rabbi let them his players go wild and injure them to show them that their ways of life are wrong and they do not have strong enough faith. I think also by reading the book, the rabbi was trying to say that his team was going to "murder" them and that his team was so talented that he did not have to give them any guidance.
I remember reading the description of Danny’s team arriving, and the particular emphasis on their uniforms. I found it interesting that a uniform was not required. The way the author described the uniforms of the opposing team in detail made it seem very important and intimidating to the rag tag group of boys that was Reuven’s team, especially to Davey, and maybe others on the team who had already heard that Danny’s team were vicious. I feel like for Reuven in particular, he was not scared of them because of their uniforms, but might have felt self-conscious, embarrassed that his team, who was very good, could not look put together. I also felt that Danny’s team looked too identical, because they were required to wear certain things and cut their hair in a specific way because of the way they practiced Judaism. I felt like it’s possible that their similarity might have infuriated Reuven because of the contrasts in his and Danny’s views of Judaism.
I believe that the people who organised Danny’s team, who were very Orthodox, did not care about baseball in particular. Their biggest concern was to abide by their beliefs, and I think having a rabbi “coach” them was more important than finding someone who knew baseball well. I think he probably did not care what his players were doing to Reuven’s team because they were “apikorsim,” and because to him baseball was not very important compared to religion.
As I was reading this scene I would think of when the other team would arrive, and we would size them up in the downstairs floor of Anderson before a basketball game. I feel like every team compares themselves to the other team, the uniforms, heights, and what skills they have. I feel like every team tries to “size up the competition”. I know all of the teams I have been on have.
The Rabbi is a very interesting character in the book so far, and my prediction is that he will play an important part later. I do not think that he is not interested, but he knows what is going to happen. Does it ever specify what he is reading? Do you think it could be a religious journal or something like a bible and he could be praying? I think that maybe he did not care about the other team because he saw them below because of religious divide.
This scene stood out for me too. I thought it was very interesting that Reuven’s team didn’t have a uniform and could basically wear whatever they wanted and Dannys team was very organized and more unified when it came to their uniforms. I thought it was a little weird that Danny's team was so similar and that almost everything in the way they look was the same. Although Danny's team had a uniform, I don’t think that Reuven was intimidated. I don’t think that the rabbi didn’t care. I think he was just knew that his team was good and they didn’t need his attention during the game. I think he didn’t tell his team to not be violent because of their differences in their religion and the need to show that their religious views were right and Reuven and his teams religious views were wrong.
An image that stood out for me happened right after Reuven’s team first went up to bat, on page 20. Danny’s team had completely surprised Reuven with their abilities at bat, after Reuven had watched them not warm up very well. Davey Cantor, a teammate of Reuven says, “They’re murderers.” He had said this several times before this instance, but Reuven had not believed him or thought much of it, based off the way the other team had warmed up. This time, when Davey said it, Reuven did not even reply. He had realized that maybe the other players were really “murderers”. I think this image really stood out to me because Reuven’s confidence takes a sudden turn, and he is not so sure anymore that they are going to win. The many times before Davey had said, “They’re murderers,” Reuven had said, “Some murderers,” but in this instance, he is silent. Earlier in the chapter, Reuven had talked about how good their team was, and how they were undefeated, and I think in this particular image, he is worrying that that might all slip away because of a team whose coach does not even look up from his book while the game is in session. I envision that right after Davey Cantor says, “They’re murderers,” in this scene, Reuven just stands silently and is staring at Danny’s team in awe. Does anyone else think Reuven might be feeling completely different in this scene?
I think that Reuven does feel different because before it seemed like he had a lot of confidence in his team. He also seemed to think that they had a good chance at winning. In this scene I think that his mood changes because he sees what the other team is capable of. I also think that in this scene he starts to lose confidence that he and his team will win the game. I think that the other team wasn't trying very hard in the beginning on purpose so that they could crush Reuven's team's confidence later in the game.
One image that particularly stood out for me was at the end of the chapter when Reuven was pitching to Danny Saunders and Danny hit the ball right back at his face shattering his glasses and causing a bump on his forehead. I think Reuven got a piece of glass in his left eye because of this sharp pain he describes which eventually causes him to cry. Throughout the whole chapter glasses are brought up a lot. And appearance in general, which does give a clear image of each character. The fact that these two had never even met before this and it’s almost as if they despise each other is really interesting to me.
This image stood out for me because this shows how important this whole baseball game is to each of them, it wasn’t really a baseball game. I think these two are actually battling each other on faith related issues. The fact that Danny grinned at Reuven right before he did that makes me wonder if his intentions are to hurt him physically. However, I almost have a feeling that these two will become friends later on in the book. Does anyone else get this sense?
An image that really stood out to me was when the umpire went over to Sidney Reuven and Schwartzie, and ask them if they were done talking. Reuven and Sidney then go off to their places on the field.The author describes the umpire as "a squat man in his late forties''. The umpire himself didn't stand out to me, it was how he was described that stood out.
This image stood out to me because it was very descriptive, but it used very little words to describe the umpire. It created a very clear image of what the umpire looked like in my mind. Even though it doesn't describe entirely what he looks like, it says enough so that I could fill in the gaps. I also thought that it was an interesting way of ending the conversation the boys were having. It was interesting because the conversation itself had no clear end, so the author figured out a way to end it. Why do you think the author ended their conversation this way?
The image that stuck out to me in chapter one was when Reuven got hit in the eye with the ball. As a Softball player myself getting hit in the face happens quite often, and has happened to a few people at TA before. I can imagine that happening to a fellow team mate or opponent and it is quite scary. A softball or baseball can do alot of damage to someone's brain and skull. I also think that it was important because the image the writer chose to portray with Danny grinning made the reader think that, is this a accident or did he chose to hit the ball directly at Reuven’s face.
I think this image stuck with me because, I have seen something like this happen before, and have heard of it happening. In this scene I can see the yellow softball with red stripes being pitched by Reuven, and the ball floating into the batters. Danny swings the bat at the perfect time, and the perfect spot. The softball then makes a direct hit straight toward Reuven. It is also very interesting that Danny is grinning before he swings the bat.
The image that stood out for me was the part in the book where Reuven is standing on second base waiting for the ball and he gets run over by the player on the Danny's team. As a baseball player, I envision the throw from the outfielder getting to Reuven at about the same time as the baserunner. Reuben is knocked over, and falls on the cement which would hurt no matter how hard he fell. Receiving a throw from an outfielder is one of the most vulnerable positions an infielder can be in because most of the time he is not able to see the runner.
ReplyDeleteThis image stands out to me because I was surprised that the Hasidic team would teach their kids to play in a dirty way. In a way, this sums up the whole chapter of the Hasidic team being "killers", as was suggested earlier in the chapter. They were willing to do whatever to win, because they thought Reuven's team was apikorosim. Why is the team taught to be so competitive that they turned into killers in order to win?
I think it is your approach to this chapter is interesting because you see it as a baseball player. I would not think about this scene the same way you did because I didn’t know it was a vulnerable position for the infielder. I do however think that it is strange that they are playing on cement. I understand that Reuven may have been in the base path, but Dov did not have to be that violent, and it didn’t really seem to be Reuven’s fault, so I am surprised the Umpire didn’t issue some sort of warning. It must be a real softball field, but why would they make it out of cement. I think this is an important scene because it shows their brutality.
DeleteThis shows the “killer” aspect of their team, but it doesn’t show the killer side of Danny. It was only Danny and Dov who were good at baseball, and were “killers” because none of the others could play. I think Danny’s team would have done much worse if he and Dov hadn’t tried to hurt their opponents because no one else could do anything, so I think it was a winning strategy. I bet it was partly to show that their version of Judaism was better. What I wonder is did the rabbi have anything to do with turning them into “killers” because he seemed to appreciate it. I think he did. I also want to know if Danny’s team had a scouting report on Reuven because it seemed like they figured it out as they went along. I don’t know how Danny and Reuven will become friends after this game though.
This image of Reuven getting knocked over when he was trying to jump up and catch the ball from outfield shows the competitiveness that the "killers" had. The fact they would want to win at all costs. I am a little confused on why a bunch of really religious Jewish people who think they are closer to God, than everyone else, would want to win at baseball. Does this make them look superior in any way? Was it just because they were playing Reuvens team? It seems like thats the way they play against everyone though because of their reputation. I think that the reason why they are so competitive at baseball is somehow they think that this will show how they are better than the surrounding Jewish towns. The team plays dirty. For example, Danny tries to hit the ball at the pitcher every at bat. The "killers" have a win at all cost philosophy.
DeleteOne image that stood out for me in this chapter was before the game when Reuven’s team was warming up, waiting for their opponents to show. I envision the pitcher practicing with the catcher; the infield throwing a ball to each other, fielding grounders, fly balls, and line drives; and the outfielders throwing amongst themselves. I also imagine one player with the bat and ball at home plate hitting different shots for the fielders to warm up. I thought it was odd that each team warms up for the game at their home field. I also envision the confidence that comes with having a winning record. This was not the most important scene, but it reminded me of the times I have gone to see professional baseball games, and arrived early in time to watch them warm up.
ReplyDeleteI think that this particular passage struck me because it is relatable to me, reminding me of the anticipation I feel before every sporting event. Warming up gets you into the mentality of the sport you will play, but it is not somber, you joke around with your teammates. Normally, you size up the other team, but in this book, the teams warm up separately. I wonder why. Also, do you think baseball will be a recurring theme in this book?
Although this image did not particularly stand out to me, I was surprised that the other team was not there to watch Reuven's team warm up. In baseball especially, because only one team can be on the field at once, warm ups are the time to size up the other team, to see if they are good or not. During the yeshiva's warm up Reuven was told by his friend that the other team were "killers". Reuven doesn't believe him because they are not good at fielders, but Reuven was also unsure because he had not seen them hit. He is pondering this while, as you mentioned, he is getting ready for the game, so he has a lot to think about.
DeleteI think baseball will come up in the book again, but will probably not have as big of an effect on Reuven, or his face, than this incident will.
I really thought that the end of the chapter was the part that spoke to me. I don’t like baseball because there is not much athleticism, and so I don’t exactly associate it with competitiveness, but this is the other side of baseball, which is a bunch of very competitive athletes. The picture of Reuven sitting helplessly while his team lost them the game, particularly because they were mean, and he wanted to beat them because of that, made me relate, even though he did not seem to feel bad, he seemed to feel helpless. His glasses were a theme throughout the chapter, with him needing to bend them down, and so ending with them breaking seemed significant. His oblivion seemed odd to me, but it was probably because he was so caught up in the game and its importance, he couldn’t think about anything else.
ReplyDeleteThis moment stuck with me because it shows the competitiveness of the game because the game didn’t stop when Reuven got injured, and the other team did nothing about it. Even Reuven’s coach didn’t do anything until after the game. But, it also did not seem that strange when I was reading it that he was just sitting on the bench for the rest of the game, and it did not matter because he had caught Danny’s hit, which was the most important thing. What was the other coach thinking-- now we can win the game? It doesn’t matter because he is a apikorsim? How does Danny become a protagonist?
I also noticed the theme of his glasses, and I think Reuven didn’t really want much attention when he got hurt because he was so focused on the game. Especially that moment when he described how it seemed like the rest of his life was insignificant and the field was like the world for a minute, or something along those lines. I also wondered what the rabbi was thinking, but He didn’t seem worried at all or seem to care much. The other team seemed to think they were more righteous or better in general than Reuven’s team. However, I almost get a sense that Reuven and Danny with become friends later on.
DeleteOne image that stood out for me was when Reuven Malter caught the baseball that Danny Saunders hit. I envision the baseball going at an unusually fast speed and flying right past the pitchers head. Malter uses all of his force to get as high off the ground as possible to catch the baseball. I can also imagine the sound that the baseball makes when it hits Malters glove and the silence and shock after he catches it and gets not only Saunders but Dov Shlomowitz out.
ReplyDeleteThis scene really stuck with me because it seemed like catching Saunders ball was almost impossible but somehow Malter managed to do it. It was also a memorable moment for Malter and his team. Malter was the first person to catch one of Danny Saunders balls. Another thing that stood out with me was that the rabbi had looked up from his book. The rabbi had rarely looked up from his book during the entire game.
Why did the rabbi rarely look up from his book during the game?
This stood out to me as well. In particular the sound the ball made in Reuven’s glove. I also imagine the pain he must of felt as the ball jerked his wrist backwards. As for the rabbi, I’m not really sure why he looked up when he did. Maybe he wanted to see what the commotion was about. Danny Saunders the star player had just gone up to bat. Possibly the rabbi wanted to see what happened. Maybe he heard the sound a ball being caught and did not believe it. Had someone really caught Danny’s ball? I can image that once he realized what had happened he was shocked and didn’t know what to say or do… so he just kept reading. I can only imagine how upset Danny and Dov must have been. They thought they were safe, no one had ever caught one of Danny’s balls and then Reuven did. Reuven must have felt immense pride as did the rest of his team. But then the pride was overshadowed by pain.
DeleteI think the reason the Rabbi rarely look up was he did not care. I don’t think he wanted to be there for any reason other to supervise the boys. He didn’t care what the outcome was of the game and would much rather be reading and, so he did.
The image that really stood out to me was the picture of the other team arriving. I feel as though Reuven’s team felt very intimidated. The other team was so put together and disciplined where Reuven’s team seamed rag-tag. I see the fear stuck faces of the boys on Reuven’s team. Boys not in uniform, all dressed differently. I imagine Reuven’s teammates with dirt and sweat on their faces and the other team looking very clean and poised. They must have felt inferior next to them. Overshadowed by the other team’s presentation. I think the other team was feeling very confident.
ReplyDeleteI find the whole picture of the rabbi sitting reading a book in the middle of a baseball game amusing. He seems so out of place and completely unaware of what is happening around him. Even when Dov plowed Reuven over he barely looked up. I wonder how he got appointed as their “coach”. I also think it is strange that he does not say anything to his boys about playing so rough. Obviously his boys where hurting the Reuven’s team but he didn’t bother to tell his boys to go easy. Did he not care?
I do not think that rabbi did not care.I think he just had enough confidence in his team to win. As for when his team was hurting Reuven's team, I think that he did not mind if that happened. Both teams have a drastically different outlook on religion then the other, and one of the messages that you get in this chapter is that the rabbi's team very strongly and openly disagrees with the way Reuven's team practices religion. Because of this, I think the rabbi let them his players go wild and injure them to show them that their ways of life are wrong and they do not have strong enough faith. I think also by reading the book, the rabbi was trying to say that his team was going to "murder" them and that his team was so talented that he did not have to give them any guidance.
DeleteI remember reading the description of Danny’s team arriving, and the particular emphasis on their uniforms. I found it interesting that a uniform was not required. The way the author described the uniforms of the opposing team in detail made it seem very important and intimidating to the rag tag group of boys that was Reuven’s team, especially to Davey, and maybe others on the team who had already heard that Danny’s team were vicious. I feel like for Reuven in particular, he was not scared of them because of their uniforms, but might have felt self-conscious, embarrassed that his team, who was very good, could not look put together. I also felt that Danny’s team looked too identical, because they were required to wear certain things and cut their hair in a specific way because of the way they practiced Judaism. I felt like it’s possible that their similarity might have infuriated Reuven because of the contrasts in his and Danny’s views of Judaism.
DeleteI believe that the people who organised Danny’s team, who were very Orthodox, did not care about baseball in particular. Their biggest concern was to abide by their beliefs, and I think having a rabbi “coach” them was more important than finding someone who knew baseball well. I think he probably did not care what his players were doing to Reuven’s team because they were “apikorsim,” and because to him baseball was not very important compared to religion.
DeleteAs I was reading this scene I would think of when the other team would arrive, and we would size them up in the downstairs floor of Anderson before a basketball game. I feel like every team compares themselves to the other team, the uniforms, heights, and what skills they have. I feel like every team tries to “size up the competition”. I know all of the teams I have been on have.
The Rabbi is a very interesting character in the book so far, and my prediction is that he will play an important part later. I do not think that he is not interested, but he knows what is going to happen. Does it ever specify what he is reading? Do you think it could be a religious journal or something like a bible and he could be praying? I think that maybe he did not care about the other team because he saw them below because of religious divide.
This scene stood out for me too. I thought it was very interesting that Reuven’s team didn’t have a uniform and could basically wear whatever they wanted and Dannys team was very organized and more unified when it came to their uniforms. I thought it was a little weird that Danny's team was so similar and that almost everything in the way they look was the same. Although Danny's team had a uniform, I don’t think that Reuven was intimidated. I don’t think that the rabbi didn’t care. I think he was just knew that his team was good and they didn’t need his attention during the game. I think he didn’t tell his team to not be violent because of their differences in their religion and the need to show that their religious views were right and Reuven and his teams religious views were wrong.
DeleteAn image that stood out for me happened right after Reuven’s team first went up to bat, on page 20. Danny’s team had completely surprised Reuven with their abilities at bat, after Reuven had watched them not warm up very well. Davey Cantor, a teammate of Reuven says, “They’re murderers.” He had said this several times before this instance, but Reuven had not believed him or thought much of it, based off the way the other team had warmed up. This time, when Davey said it, Reuven did not even reply. He had realized that maybe the other players were really “murderers”. I think this image really stood out to me because Reuven’s confidence takes a sudden turn, and he is not so sure anymore that they are going to win. The many times before Davey had said, “They’re murderers,” Reuven had said, “Some murderers,” but in this instance, he is silent. Earlier in the chapter, Reuven had talked about how good their team was, and how they were undefeated, and I think in this particular image, he is worrying that that might all slip away because of a team whose coach does not even look up from his book while the game is in session. I envision that right after Davey Cantor says, “They’re murderers,” in this scene, Reuven just stands silently and is staring at Danny’s team in awe.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else think Reuven might be feeling completely different in this scene?
I think that Reuven does feel different because before it seemed like he had a lot of confidence in his team. He also seemed to think that they had a good chance at winning. In this scene I think that his mood changes because he sees what the other team is capable of. I also think that in this scene he starts to lose confidence that he and his team will win the game. I think that the other team wasn't trying very hard in the beginning on purpose so that they could crush Reuven's team's confidence later in the game.
DeleteOne image that particularly stood out for me was at the end of the chapter when Reuven was pitching to Danny Saunders and Danny hit the ball right back at his face shattering his glasses and causing a bump on his forehead. I think Reuven got a piece of glass in his left eye because of this sharp pain he describes which eventually causes him to cry. Throughout the whole chapter glasses are brought up a lot. And appearance in general, which does give a clear image of each character. The fact that these two had never even met before this and it’s almost as if they despise each other is really interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteThis image stood out for me because this shows how important this whole baseball game is to each of them, it wasn’t really a baseball game. I think these two are actually battling each other on faith related issues. The fact that Danny grinned at Reuven right before he did that makes me wonder if his intentions are to hurt him physically. However, I almost have a feeling that these two will become friends later on in the book.
Does anyone else get this sense?
An image that really stood out to me was when the umpire went over to Sidney Reuven and Schwartzie, and ask them if they were done talking. Reuven and Sidney then go off to their places on the field.The author describes the umpire as "a squat man in his late forties''. The umpire himself didn't stand out to me, it was how he was described that stood out.
ReplyDeleteThis image stood out to me because it was very descriptive, but it used very little words to describe the umpire. It created a very clear image of what the umpire looked like in my mind. Even though it doesn't describe entirely what he looks like, it says enough so that I could fill in the gaps. I also thought that it was an interesting way of ending the conversation the boys were having. It was interesting because the conversation itself had no clear end, so the author figured out a way to end it. Why do you think the author ended their conversation this way?
ReplyDeleteThe image that stuck out to me in chapter one was when Reuven got hit in the eye with the ball. As a Softball player myself getting hit in the face happens quite often, and has happened to a few people at TA before. I can imagine that happening to a fellow team mate or opponent and it is quite scary. A softball or baseball can do alot of damage to someone's brain and skull. I also think that it was important because the image the writer chose to portray with Danny grinning made the reader think that, is this a accident or did he chose to hit the ball directly at Reuven’s face.
I think this image stuck with me because, I have seen something like this happen before, and have heard of it happening. In this scene I can see the yellow softball with red stripes being pitched by Reuven, and the ball floating into the batters. Danny swings the bat at the perfect time, and the perfect spot. The softball then makes a direct hit straight toward Reuven. It is also very interesting that Danny is grinning before he swings the bat.
Do you think Danny meant to hurt Reuven?