He Once Was A King

Below is a free term papers summary of the paper "He Once Was A King." If you sign up, you can be reading the rest of this term papers in under two minutes. Registered users should login to view this term paper.

Term Paper Title	He Once Was A King
# of Words	747
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.99

He Once Was a King

     "He coulda been a king" (Malamud 217).  In the novel The Natural by Bernard Malamud, Roy Hobbs exhibits a dichotomy of personality because he is brilliantly talented and yet tragically flawed.  Roy's immaturity with women, greed for fame and fortune, and lack of work ethic eventually lead to his ultimate destruction.  Thus, Roy Hobbs' actions contribute to the deterioration of his own fate.
     Roy's lack of maturity with women leads to greater loneliness.  The one and only woman that appreciates Roy is Iris Lemon, and he turns her away because she possesses a quality unfamiliar to Roy, namely maturity.  Her beauty and affection attract Roy, but when he learns that she is a grandmother, Roy's attraction no longer exists.  He is afraid that associating with Iris means he too must grow up.  "'You filthy scum, I hate your guts and always have since the day you murdered Bump,'" says Memo (another woman in the novel) to Roy.  Throughout the story, Roy is oblivious to the true nature of his relationship with Memo, until she must finally spell it out at the end of the novel.  As a result, Memo's understanding of the relationship allows her to toy with his heart.  "A twisted dagger of smoke drifted up from the gun barrel."  Roy's inexperience leads him to a private and tragic encounter with Harriet Bird (a third woman in the novel).  His naivete with women results in a vulnerable position.
     Roy Hobb's greed for fame and fortune also contributes to his downfall.  When Harriet Bird asks Roy, "'what will you hope to accomplish,'" Roy replies he will be the best player there ever was.  This surprises Harriet, and she asks, "'is that all?'"  In this example, Roy reveals that his priorities revolve around his fame and popularity.  Nonetheless, Roy limits his life to just baseball and ignores other aspects of living, aspects which shape one's personality.  Towards the end of the novel, the Judge bribes Roy to throw the game for money and says Roy may lose Memo to "'a better provider.'"  Roy accepts the offer, knowing that money is the only way he can keep Memo.  Roy's greed ...

This is not the end of the termpaper! Register below to see the complete version of this term paper.

Membership Plans	Credit Card	Check

1 month membership

3 month membership (You Save 50%)

6 month membership (You Save 67%)

Copyright © 2002-2007 Mid Term Papers. All rights reserved. This term papers website is used for research purposes only.
If you have forgotten your username or password, please click here.
If you like to cancel your account, please click here.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22