Ex-Basketball Player Essay

Life is standardized a circus. It has cyclic patterns of ups and downs. People lionise the ups and struggle with the downs. Some clock people are happy and there are times when they are not. Sometimes they are lucky, sometimes not. What is important is people learn from conductspans experiences and survive its challenges. John Updikes metrical composition, Ex-Basketball Player (Updike 1993) is a simple exhibition of a man who experienced the ups in his youth and settled with the fall. The song confirms that a persons future depends only on himself and how he wants it to be.This paper discusses this thesis with a thorough analysis of the poem Ex-Basketball Player (Updike 1993) based on the elements theme, characters and behavior and with reference to the poets life and works. undercoat John Updike (1932-) wrote the poem Ex-Basketball Player in 1954. (J. H. Updike (1932-) 2004) It is among his works that were based on unfeigned life situations. Updike wrote other legendar y novels and pathetic stories as well. Among them, Centaur (J. H. Updike (1932-) 2004) in 1963 which used legends and myths to depict the life and relationship of a gen whilete and a son Rabbit is full and Rabbit at Rest (J.H. Updike (1932-) 2004) twain won Pulitzer Prize in the 80s and were about the plagues in smart set or the AIDS in America. (J. H. Updike (1932-) 2004) though Updikes poems were not his carrier, Ex-Basketball Player became rattling normal especially to students and young athletes. consort to the article Inside Game, it was even train widely during the recent NCAA finals, more popular than Shakespeare. (Inside Game) Updikes comment was I am surprised it still speaks to young readers, since some(prenominal) of the imageryESSO gas pumps, small-town garages, lemon phosphates, Nibs, and voodooism Beadshas do obsolete.The garage I had in mind (also found in my early novel The Centaur) has long since become a Turkey Hill Minimarket. still perhaps the curve of adolescent advantage and adult disappointment is still with us, and quivers failure to produce a second act in his lifes drama worthy of the low is still a useful American metaphor. (Inside Game) Indeed, the setting and the mood of the poem projects the era of the blue jeans, like that of the Westside news report where most teenagers work as gasoline boys or automotive repairmen.Updike also likened the poem to Rabbit, Run (Inside Game) and his short story whiz in the Hole (Inside Game) which were both compose in the 50s. All of these were influenced by the authors life in Pennsylvania when he was growing up. He said that he used to honour a lot of basketball games because his founder was a high school teacher and a ticket taker. These experiences made voiceless impression to him the glory of home-town athletic stars and their lots anti-climactic post-graduation careers. (Inside Game)