Section 5: Final Thoughts

Hey guys, thanks for tuning back in. This past week I read the last pages of Shadow Ball, and lets just say that it was everything but boring. When we last ended off, Kid had just started a job with Comiskey. Well, during this section, her job with him fully develops to the point where she is living in his home. She is basically his secretary, 24/7. She never gives up music, and plays it whenever she can. However, now it is only a hobby for her. She is able to fully support herself on the pay that Comiskey gives her, and becomes a very independent woman. She has a stable job, a place to live, and always has food on the table. 

The most surprising part of this section to me was Comiskey's decision to sign John Henry Lloyd to the White Sox. As you all know by now, Lloyd is the African American shortstop. He's the best shortstop in any league of his time, so Comiskey feels that he would be his remedy for success. He buys Lloyd's contract from Rube Foster, and it seems that John Henry Lloyd will be the first black to play for a major league team. 

The day of Lloyd's first game is described in great detail. The experience of Sam Weiss, Rube Foster, Charles Comiskey is told in their own point of view. I think this made the story interested, because it allowed me to see how each person prepared for the climax of the story. The one that I found most interesting was Lloyd's point of view. 

When John Henry Lloyd arrives at the stadium, he is escorted to the player's locker room. All the players in there are not very tolerant of him. They do not say anything to his face, but all make snide comments behind his back. None of them feel as though he belongs there, and make sure that they make the other players aware of this. Henry feels the hatred in the air, and becomes very uncomfortable. They all go out onto the field to practice, but Comiskey instructs Lloyd to stay in the locker room for now. He thinks it would be smart to put him on the field at the last second possible to avoid stir in the crowds. 

Kid notices that the place between second and third base is completely empty. This confuses her, so she asks Sam what's going on. He is also confused, and explains to her that this is where Lloyd should be. While in the locker room, John realized that the world simply was not ready for a black major league baseball player. He tears his jersey off, and leaves it in the room. When Comiskey returns this is all that is left, and he is left thoroughly confused.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, especially the last forty pages or so. Rutkoff developed all  the characters extremely well throughout the entirety of the book, and I felt a connection to almost every single one of them. I would have to say that Kid Douglas, the singer from Mississippi, was my favorite character in the story.  The ending was very interesting, and kept me on my toes the entire time. I would recommend this book to anyone, and have a full expectation that they would enjoy it. Thank you guys for following my posts, and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them. 

Section 4: Original Creations

Hey blog followers. So this past week I read some more of the book, and I really found this section interesting. It started out with Sam Weiss at a Chicago American Giants game. Rube Foster invited him, and Weiss was interested to see what it was like. Weiss noticed how athletic and quick they were, and how they played with such finesse. He also noticed how humble they were even though their equipment was less than the white leagues.

Then, Peter Rutkoff tells the tale of Kid Douglas. She grew up in Walls Mississippi. It was one Christmas when her father gave her a worn guitar that she fell in love with music. Growing up, she had a friend named Richard. She only saw him as a friend until later in their lives. When she was about twenty, they fell in love. They both decided that the south was not the place for them. Richard proposed that they go to Memphis because many jobs would be taken by the army. They both leave, and Kid leaves and tells her mom by note.

When they move to Memphis, they love the city. However, Richard is unable to make enough money to support them both. So, Kid finds an audition at a club for music. They like her, and let her play later that night. When she plays there, the crowd loves her. The only person who's not thrilled is Richard. When Kid arrives back at the apartment all of his things are gone. She is very upset, but is somehow able to get over it and move on. The owner of the club, Vigello, signs her. Kid tours from place to place playing music. She hates the conditions and wants to stop. However, the contract that she signed without reading obliges her to stay for at least one year. Here I will attach a link to a creation of mine detailing Kid's journey from Mississippi to Memphis.

http://mattyjay.edu.glogster.com/shadow-ball-blog/

Another character discussed is Charles Comiskey. At the end of the section, he is in a meeting with some other influential men of Chicago. They are discussing the option of signing an African American to the White Sox for quite a long time, weighing the options. Then, the conversation moves to politics. Here, I will attach some biographical information about the real Charles Comiskey.

http://mattyjay.edu.glogster.com/shadow-ball-2-7415/

Thank you for reading again this week. I really am enjoying the book so far, and I hope you guys like my postings as well. You'll hear from me next week as I finish the book.

Section 3: Reactions, Reflections, and Some Historical Context

Hey guys, thanks for checking back into my blog. So far, reading Shadow Ball has been very enjoyable and entertaining for me. Peter Rutkoff is a very talented author, and his writing style and content has been very pleasing so far.

So far, one of my favorite things about the novel is Rutkoff's way of describing the characters. Each character had a thorough introduction into the storyline, including where they grew up, their parents, etc. I thought this was a great way for Rutkoff to characterize them. This section was mainly about Rube Foster and his upbringing. His life was very interesting. His father was the preacher and extremely well known barber in his hometown. He was a very influential and even-tempererd man, and Rube learned from his advice. In fact, Rube recognizes that there is a lot of his father in himself. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on Rube's background and upbringing, which kept me entertained throughout.

Something that has surprised me about the novel is its use of foul language. During the time period of the novel. there were many words tossed around that are considered extremely poor today. Most of the ones exhibited in this novel are prejudice profanity towards the African American characters and towards Sam Weiss, the Jewish character. The fact that these words appear in the novel has added a number of different effects to the read. For one, it has added to the authenticity of the historical context. These words were very commonly used during the early 1900's. Putting them in the thought process and dialogue of the different characters adds to the "real" feeling while reading. However, it has also been somewhat unappealing to me. To be reading down a page and all of a sudden see a word as offensive and distasteful as that can be very surprising and annoying. If there were one thing I could change about the book, especially this section where it was most prevalent, it would probably be this.

Here,  I will attach a link to a website about the Chicago Race Riots of 1919.

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,7,1,1,33

This event is a very similar historical context as Shadow Ball. The setting is Chicago during the year 1919. In both scenarios, there is a lot of racism towards African Americans. This builds a lot of tension, and eventually something terrible happens. Thirty-eight people are left dead, and over five-hundred injured. On the back of the book, it says that that this event will cause a lot of stir within the city and characters. Since the main characters are both black and white, I think that this event will cause a larger gap in their relationship. Additionally, I think that if John Henry is unable to sign with the Chicago White Sox, this will be the main reason for it.

Here is a video about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

This video very closely relates to the plot of the novel. Although this event did happen about thirty years later, many facets of the time period were very similar. During both, there was an extreme amount of racism towards African Americans. This had a large impact on the professional baseball system. Just like the novel, there were two separate leagues; one for whites and one for blacks. John Henry Lloyd's character plays a very similar role that Jackie Robinson did during the 1940's. They are both very talented African American baseball players. When both try to break the barrier, they are faced with an enormous amount of obstacles. Jackie Robinson was able to overcome these obstacles and break the color barrier. I am interested to see if Lloyd will be as successful.

Well, that's all I've got for this week. Hope my posts are keeping you entertained. Check back again next week for more.

Section 2: Characters, Conflicts, Reaction/Reflection and Predictions

Hello blog readers. Its been a week since I posted last, and I have a lot more to share with you. So far, I have read the first three chapters of my book Shadow Ball. The novel has surprisingly developed a lot within these fifty-seven pages. So, here are the characters and conflicts, my reaction to the reading, and my predictions for the novel so far.

In the first three chapters, the novel has introduced four main characters. The first of these is Sam Weiss, a first generation American trying to make a living.  Secondly, we have Charles Comisky, the owner of the Chicago White Sox. The third character introduced is Rube Foster, the black owner of the Chicago's African American team, the Chicago-American Giants.  Finally, John Henry Lloyd, a black former baseball player, who is now a blue collar worker.

The first character mentioned in the novel is Sam Weiss. His father was Max Weiss, who left his family and immigrated to America from Poland to find a better life. He faced many challenges while in America, but especially finding a job. He was conned out of his life savings, and cleaned the streets for the rest of his life to make a living to support his family. Sam, his son, is a very intelligent, hardworking, and determined person. He attended college, and law school in Chicago. While studying for the Bar Exam, he met Charles Comiskey, the owner of the White Sox. Sam wasn't quite finished law school when Comiskey offered him a job as his right hand man. Weiss accepted, without a lot of knowledge of what it would entail.

Throughout the section, Sam Weiss had a few challenges. The earliest mentioned dates back to when he was just a kid playing baseball. He was a very talented ball player, and the best out of his group of friends. However,  after an accident at one of their games left his eye severely injured,  he needed a six-month recovery. He was never able to play baseball again. Another of his challenges was finding a job after law school. As a Jew, very few law firms would hire him. Also, the ones that were willing to hire him were in fields of law he had no interest in practicing. However, this conflict was resolved when Charles Comiskey offered him a job. The final, and probably the most significant conflict relevant to the novel, is the last mentioned. Sam believes that if the Chicago White Sox acquire John Henry Lloyd, they would be able to win the pennant. The only problem; Lloyd is black. Since the novel takes place in the early 1900's, having an African-American in the major leagues is considered unheard of and outrageous. Sam takes it upon himself to convince Mr. Comiskey to sign Lloyd. The third chapter ends with Weiss at Comiskey's house, the contract for signing John Henry Lloyd to the Chicago White Sox in hand...

Another main character in the story is Charles Comiskey, whose nickname is The Roman. He is the owner of the Chicago White Sox, one of major league baseball's best teams. He is very cheap with his player's salaries, and is hated by nearly all of them. In fact, almost everyone in the novel who describes him has a deep hatred towards him.

Comiskey has a lot of conflict with his team. Because he is extremely frugal with the money he spends, he doesn't pay his players generously; at all. However, he is very set on having the White Sox win the championship this year. To help with this, he acquired Joe Jackson the previous year, who is described as the "best raw hitter in the league". He has shown to be a large asset to the team, but they still need more to succeed against the competition.

Rube Foster is also an important character in the novel. He is the owner of the Negro League baseball team in Chicago, called the Chicago-American Giants. He has a past relationship with another of the characters, John Henry Lloyd, who used to play for him. So far in the novel, no conflicts have been mentioned concerning him. However, I predict that many will arise as the novel goes on due to racial prejudices of the time period.

The final main character mentioned is John Henry Lloyd. He is an African American blue collar worker. He used to play baseball, and was very talented. When he quit, he became a laborer. One of his conflicts discussed in the novel is his missing of baseball. He still misses it everyday, and longs to play again. However, this problem may have a solution. Sam Weiss' has a plan to get Lloyd signed to the Chicago White Sox would solve this problem. When presented with the idea, Lloyd was elated and extremely doubtful. However, Weiss convinced him he would make it happen. Another of Lloyd's conflicts is with the people he works with. Most of them are white, and this presents a problem. Because of the racial hierarchy during the time, Lloyd is placed near the bottom. He is forced to follow directions from his bosses,  who are all white. At one point, one orders him to fetch them some beer. Although he was very upset, he was able to keep his wits about him and comply with the order.

After reading the first three chapters, I am very satisfied with the novel. I think it is very interesting how it reflects a real life event that was very crucial to the advancement of the sport, which was when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. The difference is, the setting for this story is about thirty years earlier. I am interested to see if it plays out at all similar to the real life event. The one thing that has surprised me is how the author paints the character of Charlie Comiskey. Every time one of the characters introduced or described him, he was shown in a negative light. Also, one thing I am disapointed with so far is the amount that Rube Foster is characterized. He is not talked about for very long so far, but I think he will become a pivotal character in the story later on.

I have many predictions for how Peter Rutkoff will develop the story. For one, I do not think Charles Comiskey will go for the contract that Sam is about to present to him. Because of the way he has been characterized, he does not seem like the kind of man willing to risk himself for the betterment of a minority. Also, I think that there will be a conflict between Sam Weiss and John Henry Lloyd. Weiss reassured Lloyd that he would be able to sign him to the White Sox, and Lloyd was very excited about this. However, if Comiskey is unwilling to sign the contract, I think Lloyd will be very upset and blame it on Sam.