Term Paper Categories
|
A Dream Of A Lifetime
| Term Paper Title |
A Dream Of A Lifetime |
| # of Words |
727 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) |
2.91 |
A Dream of a Lifetime
February 13, 2004
Eng 111
Literary Analysis
In “The Hector Quesadilla Story” from the book “Greasy Lakes,” T.C. Boyle writes about an old-timer baseball player whose life-long dream to become a big leaguer never becomes a reality. The story describes how a Mexican ballplayer looks forward to the day when he can show the world he can still “play the game” despite his old age. In the end, the character imagines his last game will be his greatest. The book has a sad ending because the character never fulfills his dream of becoming a legend. All people go through the ageing process at some point in their lives. It is natural to think you will never lose your youthfulness and vitality. Everyone should aspire to achieve their goals while they are still full of life. This story characterizes Hector Quesadilla as a person who wants to hold on to his youth and become a legend in his own mind.
The author uses humor to describe Hector’s ailments, such as shinsplints, hemorrhoids and ingrown toenails and how the character has aged. He then compares him to when he was young and played like “a saint of the stick” (203) and resembled the best baseball player that ever played in Mexico. As Charles E. May wrote in his survey of the story, Boyle “examines the silliness of the world, exulting in its absurdities.”(325). Humor is often used by some people as a way of getting through obstacles and maintaining a positive outlook on life.
Boyle uses comparison contrast to describe his character throughout the story. He will say something positive about Hector, but in contrast will remind the reader that Hector is too old to continuing playing baseball. Throughout the story the author gives his character several opportunities to prove himself. He builds suspense by asking the question that encourages the reader to go on reading the story and find the conclusion.
The character daydreams about seeing his nickname on a license plate and associates that as a sign of great things to come. He hopes to see his own name in lights, but is quickly brought ...Read entire document
|
|
|
|
