Rhetoric Study (Required)

"The field was overrun with droopy players. Half a dozen were bunched near the gate of the cage, waiting to be pitched to by Al Fowler, whom Pop had ordered to throw batting practice for not bearing down in the clutches yesterday. Some of the men were at the sidelines, throwing catch. A few were shagging flies in the field, a group was playing pepper. On the line between home and first Earl Wilson was hacking out grounders to Allie Stubbs, Cal Baker at short, Hank Benz, the third baseman, and Emil Lajong, who played first. No one seemed to be thoroughly awake, but when Roy went into the batting cage they came to life and observed him"(62).

This is an example of one of many passages that show Malamud's writing style. As shown in the passage above, Malamud uses backround information to set a scene or a point he is about to portray. He slowly tells the reader in the passage above about how the players are slow, sluggish, and not really paying attention to what they are supposed to be doing. I think he does this to sort of give the reader a feel for what is going on in the book at the time.

The way he gives you a description of where the players are and what they are all doing really makes you feel like you are there and can see the players actions and attitides. I think he does this because he wants you to understand the scene better, because it will impact your response to the passage more. Saying that, I think Malamud uses simple sentences and simple words to get his point across, like in the passage above: he wants us to see the impact Roy has on the players and on the game of baseball.

"No one seemed to be thoroughly awake, but when Roy went into the batting cage they came to life and observed him"(62).

The way he describes Roy also gives you a feel about how heroic and almost supernatural he is compared to the other players. You can tell Malamud is trying to do this because he almost describes everything Roy does in a mystical or life changing sense. In this passage, he talks about how when Roy came to hit, all the players "came to life" and were, in a sense, inspired. This is just one example of a passage that has typical diction, description, and comparison in which Roy is portrayed as supernatural.