Confident Cocky Casey example essay topic

Strike Three America, and the world love sport; there are hundreds of types, but the one thing that links them all together is the emotion. For players and fans alike, the emotional involvement with the game is what draws them to it; and for Americans, there is one sport in particular that ignites their passion - baseball. Baseball has been called "America's pastime" for a reason; the suspense, drama, and pride wrapped up in this game have captivated generations. The poem, "Casey at the Bat" effectively captures the emotion tied into the sport of baseball. "Casey at the Bat" is a poem about the last inning of a Mudville baseball game. The team is down two points, and the first two of their batters had already been sent back to the dugout.

However, luck seemed to be on their side, the next two batters reached base, and the best hitter on the team was up to bat; Casey. The confident-cocky Casey let the first two balls go by; both were strikes. Then the last pitch came, the crowed held their breath as Casey took a swing; and to quote the poem, "but there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out". There are two distinct psychological personalities present in this poem; these emotional beings are the audience and Casey. The actions and words of both shed light on each others personality and mental state during that final, historical inning.

First and foremost, nowadays attendance rates amongst professional baseball games can be in the thousands. When that many people are grouped together, the Murakami 2 emotion of the game can have an effect on the group's mentality. The audience in "Casey at the Bat" is no different. When people are in large groups, they begin to think and act as the same as the people around them. When more and more people begin to conform, the group itself actually becomes a separate entity; an entity with its own opinions and emotions that can act as a separate character in itself. The audience in the poem begins the inning with a sense of optimism.

As with any new inning, the crowd will always be hopeful; this can be inferred within the first and second stanzas. In the second stanza, it states that, "A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game"; now in order for a let-down to occur, there must be some prior excitement, hence the optimism in the beginning of the inning. At this point, some of the crowd began to leave, but the majority stayed because they had some hope that the star, Casey, would get up to bat. Their wish came true when Flynn and Blake reached base; this is when the anticipation began to rise. This can be determined by the line, "then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell; it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell"; it effectively encompasses their expectations and excitement for Casey. Then, as Casey let the two pitches go by, the crowed turned angry and started to blame the umpire instead of Casey's cockiness.

The excitement of the crowd climaxed with the last pitch; this was the last chance for their team to win. After the swing and the miss, the crowd adjourned and returned to everyday life; the emotions of the game soon subsided and life went on. Moreover, the other side to professional baseball is the players themselves. There is a lot of pressure place on professional athletes, especially since their primary purpose is to win.

When they do not win, there is even more pressure placed on the player because he / she may not know if he / she will have a job in the future. However, some Murakami 3 players thrive on this pressure, and actually do better when the pressure is on. Casey is this type of person; or so he thinks. Leading up to his appearance at the plate, Casey must be feeling some sense anxiety, but this is cooled by his confidence.

Even though the pressure is on, and the expectations from the crowd, coaches and fellow teammates are high, Casey still approached the plate with poise. This is evident in the line, "There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place, there was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face"; this calm attitude can directly relate to his confident domineer. As the first pitch went by, Casey can be quoted as saying, "That ain't my style"; this line tells the reader that Casey, even though he is confident, he crossed the line into cockiness. This cockiness got in the way again when he let the second pitch goes by. Now faced with one last shot to save the game, Casey began to focus hard on the task at hand; he clenched his teeth, and flexed his muscles, which are both signs of adrenaline driven focus. After the miss, there must have been an anti- climaxing moment such as a sigh or something to that effect, but whatever it was the poem stops short from describing any future events past the strike.

There is a lot of emotion wrapped up in this poem coming from fans and players alike. The audience went through several mental stages; these included optimism, letdown, climaxing and normality return. On the other hand, Casey walked up to the plate with confidence, which soon turned to cockiness; this then lead to his demise. All in all, "Casey at the Bat" is a classic poem about expectations and emotions involved in the game of baseball.