William Patrick Kinsella, a Canadian author of stories and novels, has attracted fans internationally with his imaginative and humorous fictions. He claims that the combination of reading and loneliness stirred his creativity. Being alone he needed to entertain himself and did so by reading and writing. This turned him into an admirable author. His most famous novel Shoeless Joe is said to be "a balancing act sustained by the absolutely fearless, sentimentality-risking honesty of the author" (Collier 135). This story portrays the economic problems of the 70's and 80's. Kinsella also uses the theme of going for your dreams and the main conflict of man versus society. .
During the 1970's, America was enduring an economic recession it had not seen since the Great Depression. By 1982, the unemployment rate hit 10.8%. At this time approximately twelve million Americans were out of a job and had no income (Moss 317). For example, before Ray bought the farm in Iowa, he went to college and chose to be a life insurance salesman. However, he was unable to find a job (Kinsella 10). Ray was one of the millions of people who had troible finding work during the 1980's. Kinsella is trying to show that during this time of recession, it was difficult for someone coming right out of college, to start a career. Luckily, Ray fell in love with Iowa, met his wife and bought a farm. Buying a farm was incredibly risky though. After the Vietnam War, the economy and agricultural prices sunk to new lows. These troubles continued throughout the 1970s and early 1980s (Moss 317). Ray describes his bills as, "I look at the payments that will be due in the fall and I have a sinking feeling within me, as if an elevator has dropped five floors" (Kinsella 186). It did not help Ray's problems to plow down one-fourth of his crops to build a baseball field, but many people at this time were plowing their field.
Shoeless Joe is a book about a man who builds a baseball field in his cornfield because he heard a voice telling him "if you build it, he will come". ... The first area of the field that is completed is left field, where Ray's favorite baseball player, Shoeless Joe Jackson plays. ... While they were watching a game Shoeless Joe came up to Moonlight Graham and asked him if he wanted to play, of course he accepted. ...
Shoeless Joe Jackson (Joseph Jefferson Jackson) appeared in Rays baseball field, out of no where, from the tall corn grass. ... Legend has it that shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other players where banned from the game after being found guilty of loosing the World Series on purpose for money. But all who hear this story are shocked that Joe could have been in the famous Black Sox scandal simply because he had the highest batting average in the series and belted the series only homerun. ... However, one night, when he and his daughter Karin where watching one of the daily baseball games that Sh...
The crowd cheers, "Shoeless!" ... Once you reach the dugout your coach Kid Gleason yells, "Shoeless, get up to bat." ... "Up to bat Shoeless Joe Jackson," the announcer enthusiastically whoops. ... Joe had a tough childhood, growing up with almost nothing ("Joe Jackson"). ... Joe had a brutal childhood in South Carolina. ...
The crowd cheers, "Shoeless!" ... Once you reach the dugout your coach Kid Gleason yells, "Shoeless, get up to bat." ... "Up to bat Shoeless Joe Jackson," the announcer enthusiastically whoops. ... While playing for the Spinners he acquired the name "Shoeless Joe." ... Even though it only happened once, he was still known for it for the rest of his career, "Shoeless Joe" ("Joe Jackson"). ...
He builds a baseball field for Shoeless Joe Jackson. ... He got to watch Shoeless Joe Jackson play graceful baseball in the field that he built. ... That is where Shoeless Joe Jackson plays his position. ... The book gives a little more history on shoeless Joe Jackson then the movie. ... In the book Ray was just happy that Shoeless Joe showed up to play on his field. ...
The players that are involved are pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude Williams, first baseman Arnold Gandil, shortstop Charles Risberg, third baseman George Weaver, left fielder "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, center fielder Oscar Felsch and a substitute player, Fred McMullen. (Asinof) Everyone attended the meeting except "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Arnold Rothstein. ...
Field of Dreams A voice spoke to Ray Kinsella one day while he was working out in his cornfield. The voice said "If you build it he will come." These words set him off; they began his spiritual journey. If you"re a teacher looking for the perfect movie to show your class, look no further than...
Shoeless Joe Jackson played for the Chicago White Sox in 1919. ... ("Official Statement Regarding Joe Jackson" 1) Jackson was tried in two different courts, and both times he was found innocent. ... There is also factual evidence to prove Joe's innocence. ... He did ask to be benched, and went so far as to tell his owner of the fix ("Facts Relating to Joe Jackson" 3), but to Major League Baseball he did not do enough. ... Joe Paterno (head football coach at Penn State) and Lou Holtz (head football coach at South Carolina) are the two most notable ones. ...
From the days that young Native Americans looked up to (and pinned their hopes on) decathlete Jim Thorpe, Italian immigrants to Joe DiMaggio, and black women to Olympians Wilma Rudolph and Florence Griffith Joyner and emulated their every move. ...
