What Makes Leary King - Essay Example

What Makes Leary King? In the book King Leary, Paul Quarrington centers the story on Percival Learywho was once considered as King of the Ice – the best ice hockey player of his time. The book is narrated by Percival Leary himself and now as Leary reminisces his memories as the best ice hockey player and a forgotten legend, readers come to know that his title as a ‘King’ is perceived more as Leary’s tough personality than his extraordinary performance in terms of scores. As Allain notes in her journal article, men’s hockey encourages masculinity which is monitored by its distinction from practices of homosexual male and females (464). Leary continuously reminds the readers of his glorious past as a hockey player even though others did not consider him to be essentially invincible. Perhaps what really made Leary King is the fact that he has held himself so high in his own mind that he has disregarded comments stating his weaker areas as a hockey player. This notion is emphasized many times as Leary narrates his story when he defeated the previous King, Newsy Lalonde. Throughout the narration, Leary displays feelings of nostalgia as he tries to remember his days at the reformatory with supposedly man monks and his days as the King. As emphasized by Allain, masculinity is an attribute which is often associated with successful ice hockey players however some hegemonic masculinity traits may vary across cultures (464). There are clear notions of masculinity being promoted for ice hockey which Leary establishes as he describes himself as being the “best pup on ice” because he could score more goals (Quarrington, 67). Leary goes on to explain how he “smashed” Billy during a game once and got expelled from the game because he was “much better” than the rest whereas hockey was a team sport (Quarrington, 68). This demonstrates an assertive and aggressive side to Leary’s personality which is typically masculine. As mentioned in Allain’s article, masculinity exhibited in ice hockey is differentiated from the expression of manliness in locker rooms (464). As a result, many minority groups including homosexual men are marginalized by the social interaction which occurs in ice hockey as defined by hegemonic masculinity. Thus, hockey is constructed as a male-oriented sport and the notion is instituted by various social agents and channels. Leary himself affirms the concept of masculinity as he stresses his achievements as the King (Quarrington, 68) in way which is typical of the traits possessed by Canadian Hockey men (Allain, 464). Leary remembers the time when he was found guilty for his crime and was sent to the Bowmanville Annex Reformatory for Boys where he met four monks (Quarrington, 59). This was also the place where he learnt how to play hockey. He remembers the time when he became King of the Ice and overthrew the previous King, Lalonde. Leary describes himself was the “heart and soul of Ottawa Paddies” as he went to play against Newsy (Lalonde) and how his score won them the Stanley Cup (Quarrington, 68). Leary almost got into an argument with Lalonde before his score but the fight was stopped by Manfred Ozikean. As Larry crossed himself he found himself to be scoring a winning stroke which made him the King. This winning stroke also represents Leary’s masculine trait which Allain explained in her article as being performed by demonstrating bravery through confrontations (464) which Leary exercised with the previous King, Lalonde. King Leary presents Leary’s side of the story as he narrates how his arrival at the reformatory for boys leads him towards hockey’s most prestigious title – King. By doing so, he presents his experiences in the reformatory and how the four monks had intrigued him to learn hockey. In 1919 when he enacted his signature move, St. Louis Whirlygig, he found himself to be entering the glorious time of his life as a hockey player. Throughout, the reader gets the picture that Leary has a high self-worth which has made him a person stranded in his past. He cannot stop thinking about his remarkable past. So, Leary now only seems like a legend to himself while all others have forgotten about him. He remembers a night in the reformatory when he could not fall asleep due to restlessness and heard a sound as if hockey sticks were swung across the ice. He soon realized that he was not dreaming but was hearing real sounds from his window. Upon looking he noticed the monks playing ice hockey and with maneuvers he could not comprehend. As Leary noticed the scene he went outside to see the monks playing a game with wayward actions. But Leary was most surprised when he saw Isaiah the blind playing on the rink. Being bind, he passed, received and skated on the rink and Leary described him “skating like a madman” (Quarrington, 72). And his skilful movement of the whirligig astonished Leary and that was the moment when Leary realized that Brother Isaiah was the best. Paul Quarrington has demonstrated the attitude of hockey players as essentially masculine as Leary remembers the previous King, Lalonde to be a strong player due to his “largeness and ability” (Quarrington, 68). This reflects a notion that Lalonde was the King of Ice because of his masculine structure and strength and also implies that Leary was now more able which is why his move St. Louis whirligig earned him the title of Percival “King” Leary. The book presents clear notions of hockey and its association with male attributes that depict hockey as a male domain as compared to those that require delicate movements. Leary explains how his shots were the “hardest” in his days even though some people felt that this was his weakest part (Quarrington, 66). Leary recalls his past experiences as a glorious hockey player but how he has now been forgotten in the course of time. Leary seems to emphasize too much on his own achievements as being the best individually and better than the rest of his team. He does this to portray himself as competitive relative to his team. Thus, Leary narrates his side of the story to illustrate himself as being essentially better than his team players. Works Cited Allain, Kristi A. "“Real Fast and Tough”: The Construction of Canadian Hockey Masculinity." Rethinking Society in the 21st Century: Critical Readings in Sociology, (2012): 359. Print. Quarrington, Paul. King Leary. Toronto, Ont.: Doubleday Canada, 1987. Print. Read More