Symbolism In The Natural

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After reading The Natural, have you ever noticed how big of role symbolism is? Bernard Malamud is a great writer in ways that he creates literary devices and symbols in the novel. Just about every character in the represents something to Roy Hobbs. Bernard Malamud uses symbolism in “The Natural” to show how events around Roy Hobbs affect his decisions and his baseball career. In the beginning of the novel, Roy is interested in playing baseball in the major leagues. Roy rides the train with Sam Simpson, the scout that is trying to recruit Roy. Along with Roy and Sam is Max Mercy and The Whammer. One of the most influential woman Roy meets is also on the train with them. The train stops at the carnival and Roy and The Whammer are challenged …show more content…
From one woman to the next is the way Roy goes with women. He becomes interested with a teammates girlfriend. Roy wants a close relationship with Memo Paris, who was single after her boyfriend Bump Bailey died. Memo was very important to him. He always made time for her in his life. What he did not figure out was that she was a backstabber and was not as great as Roy thought. Memo does something that was not suspected of her in the novel. She poison's Roy at the party, and Roy realizes that she is distrustful. (Turchi, 123) Memo is another woman who tries to stop Roy from being a hero and reaching stardom. Judge, Roy, and Memo meet up at the end of the novel and Roy figures out what had been going on with Memo. Memo and Harriet Bird share a close personality. They were both out for ending his career, because they knew he was a hero. These are the two women that cut Roy down the most in his career. There was a woman in that Roy noticed at one of his games when he was not batting well. Iris Lemon stood up at Roy’s game and it made Roy start hitting the ball again. Roy knew he had to figure out who she was. "The lady in the stands hesitantly rose for the second time." (Malamud, 141) Roy had never had someone who would go to his games and show a caring attitude. After Roy and Iris make love, he is told that she is a grandmother. This is when Iris can be a symbol of a mother-figure for Roy. Iris does mother-like things for Roy, such as going visit him in the hospital and going to all his games with her son. "Iris can bring Roy to that life only by freeing him from his fear of morality.” (Katz, 3921) Katz says that Iris helps Roy make good decisions that help him, and she plays a big role. Without Iris, Roy’s baseball career would have been terrible. Women tend to lead Roy on a bad track, but Iris seemed to be the only one the stuck with him through hard
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