ENG 4AO
January 19, 2000
Compare/Contrast Essay
Baseball... a true American game and past time that has been part of our
lives from the beginning. It has stood the test of time simply because of it's purity
and infinite list of players that have ffostered the game to what it is today. Yet a
single blemish remains that took place in 1919 when the World Series was thrown
by eight players including Shoeless Joe Jackson. "Shoeless Joe Jackson who last
played major league baseball in 1920 and was suspended for life, along with seven
of his compatriots, by Commissioner Mountain Landis, for his part in throwing the
1919 World Series" Kinsella (6,7). Many of Shoeless Joe's greatest fans including
Ray Kinsella were deeply saddened to hear the news that their hero would no
longer be playing baseball. "The name Kenesaw Mountain Landis became
synonymous with the devil" Kinsella (7). In the novel Shoeless Joe by W.P
Kinsella and the movie Field of Dreams by Phil Alden Robinson differ in terms of
relationships, characters,and are similar in plot, and have majical content.
In each of the works the relationships between the charaters are contrasted.
In the novel Annie was very supportive of her hard working husband Ray who ran
their farm. When Ray told Annie that he had heard voices in the field she was
interested in what he had heard. The words Ray heard were "If you build it he will
come" Kinsella (5). He could not believe what he was hearing. At first he thought
he was dreaming. Ray knew the voice meant something about the baseball field.
When he informed Annie about his dream she gave him her blessings and
encouraged ray one hundred percent. In the movie however Annie's perception of
her husbands aspirations differed greatly. When Ray suggested the idea to Annie,
she thought he was crazy and...