tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post3030178246370566177..comments2023-11-05T03:05:02.330-06:00Comments on The Henry Wiggen Blog: Book review: "The Southpaw"John Lofflinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15278336968891726815noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post-28172662221518778832009-05-06T12:43:00.000-05:002009-05-06T12:43:00.000-05:00Matt, I've been fascinated with this book since I ...Matt, I've been fascinated with this book since I first read it. In fact, I re-read it this spring. It was like playing catch with an old friend. I think it is particularly interesting if you view it in historical context: The concept of the flawed (and realistic) hero in the wake of WWII. We may be in store for more such heroes in reaction to our current times where the word hero has begun to lose meaning as it slips into sugary sentiment again.<br /><br />Henry's pacifism is more important than it seems at first blush. I think the book turns on Henry's decision late in the season, when the pressure is really on, to let loose a spit ball which accidentally beans a hitter. His family is brutally honest about their disappointment in him -- the passages really sting. And Henry realizes something important about what it is to be a man. (I remember beaning a kid on purpose as a teenager, watching the kid collapse into the ground, feeling something break inside me...) I don't know if Harris was already thinking about the rest of the series, but you could make a case for this incident being a fulcrum for Henry's entire fictional career.<br /><br />We need a little more of this in modern baseball. Nobody seems to think ethically in the game today. Nobody seems to consider what it is to be a man (in the non-gender sense), to be true and loyal, to play the game with respect, and to leave everything on the field. I'm afraid modern players would find Henry's fulcrum terribly naive.<br /><br />And, what do you make of Red Traphagen's role? Is he a stand-in for Harris?<br /><br />--LofflinJohn Lofflinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15278336968891726815noreply@blogger.com