1a. What does Kierkegaard say?
2a. What surprised the narrator about his teammates when he was playing well? How does he convey that his attitude toward playing baseball has changed?
3a. What happens to the narrator's hunger at the end of the selection?
4a. Identify the two types of hunger described in this short story.
5a. "The Slump" captures the sense of uncertainty and insecurity that all people experience at some point during their lives. How effectively is this developed by the author?
1b. How is the ballplayer's slump like a blind spot?
2b. How has the narrator's attitude toward baseball changed during the course of his career?
3b. What does the ballplayer experience at the end of the selection?
4b. How do you think the narrator will get out of his slump and overcome his panic hunger? Cite evidence from the story to support your answer.
5b. Explain why professional athletes are revered in our culture. Which professional athletes do you admire? Why?
Metaphor.In the phrase "the sun seems a high fly I'm going to lose," what two things are being compared? Why is this metaphor particularly appropriate for this story?
Diction.Review the chart you made in Literary Tools. How would you characterize Updike's diction? From the colloquial expressions you listed in your chart, which appear dated? Which apply to baseball?
1. Imagine that you are a sports writer for a newspaper. Write a column for sports fans contrasting the baseball player's past and current performance. Use your own paper as necessary.
2. Imagine that you are a fan of the baseball player. Write a supportive letter giving him advice on how he should get out of his slump. Use your own paper as necessary.
3. Write a song or poem that celebrates baseball. Be sure to include baseball diction. Use your own paper as necessary.
Common and Proper Nouns. List the common nouns and the proper nouns from the sentences below.
1. The baseball player does not believe his reflexes are to blame for his slump.
2. The ballplayer used to see all seven continents on the ball made by Spalding.
3. Labor Day is coming, and the narrator plans to give a tip to the attendant.
4. Kierkegaard says you can't see a blind spot.
5. On the advice of Topping, Joe DiMaggio broke his slump by going to a night club.
Read the Language Arts Survey 2.21, "Pro and Con Charts." Then fill in the pro and con chart below, listing arguments for and against becoming a professional athlete. When you are finished with the chart, write an essay on your own paper explaining why, if given the opportunity, you would or would not want to become a professional athlete.
