Ex-Basketball Player Essay

Life is like a circus. It has cyclic patterns of ups and downs. People celebrate the ups and struggle with the downs. Sometimes people be happy and there be times when they are not. Sometimes they are lucky, sometimes not. What is important is people learn from lifes experiences and break through its challenges. lavatory Updikes poem, Ex-Basketball pseudo (Updike 1993) is a simple portrayal of a man who experienced the ups in his youth and settled with the fall. The poem confirms that a per passwords future depends solely on himself and how he wants it to be.This subject discusses this thesis with a thorough analysis of the poem Ex-Basketball Player (Updike 1993) base on the elements theme, characters and style and with reference to the poets life and works. Background 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 objective life situations. Updike wrote other legendary overbolds and short stories as well. Among them, Centaur (J. H. Updike (1932-) 2004) in 1963 which utilize legends and myths to depict the life and relationship of a father and a son Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest (J.H. Updike (1932-) 2004) both won Pulitzer Prize in the 80s and were about the plagues in edict or the AIDS in America. (J. H. Updike (1932-) 2004) Though Updikes poems were not his carrier, Ex-Basketball Player became very popular especially to students and young athletes. According to the article intimate Game, it was even read 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 oft of the imageryESSO gas pumps, small-town garages, lemon phosphates, Nibs, and Juju Beadshas become obsolete.The garage I had in mind (also found in my early novel The Centaur) has long since become a Turkey Hill Minimarket. But maybe the curve of adolescent success and adult disappointment is sti ll with us, and photographic films failure to produce a second act in his lifes drama worthy of the first is still a useful American metaphor. (Inside Game) Indeed, the setting and the mood of the poem projects the era of the black jeans, like that of the Westside Story where most teenagers work as throttle boys or automotive repairmen.Updike also likened the poem to Rabbit, Run (Inside Game) and his short account statement Ace in the Hole (Inside Game) which were both written in the 50s. All of these were influenced by the authors life in pascal when he was growing up. He said that he used to take in a lot of basketball games because his father was a high schooldays teacher and a ticket taker. These experiences made strong impression to him the rejoice of home-town athletic stars and their often anti-climactic post-graduation careers. (Inside Game)