Baseball: An Analysis of the Divergent Views Concerning Origins and Meanings of Americas Favorite Pastime - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages In order to accomplish this task, this analysis will pay special attention to the following terms: individualism, pastoral, and traditional society.
For purposes of this analysis and the analysis of the aforementioned authors, individualism will be used with respect to the individualistic nature in which the game of baseball is played (as compared to other team sports). Likewise, the respective authors note that this individualism is likely a direct result of the individualism that is expressed through the frontier experience that American settlers experienced. In much the same way, pastoral will be defined with relation to the actual setting in which the game is played; on a green grassy field – intermixed with dirt and a varying degree of way marks. Finally, traditional society will be defined and understood with relation to how the game proceeds outside of time and due to the rhythmic motions of nature and individual highlights of the participants. It is extremely important to note that through analyzing these distinct components, this author has noted a great deal of convergence and coalescence between each of these distinct terms. For this reason, as well as the fact that each of the authors of the respective pieces interprets these differently, the reader will likely note a great deal of parallelism between these three distinct terms. Allen Guttmann briefly emphasizes the individualist nature of baseball prior to moving on to his dominant theme regarding the pastoral nature of the game. Says Guttman, “The frontier was a source of mobility, restlessness, and change as well as equality and individualism. It was, moreover, the spirit of the frontier that led to an emphasis on organization” (Guttman 29). Although Guttman notes the unique individuality that the game displays, his particular focus lies within the pastoral elements that the game engenders. Says Guttman of the pastoral roots that define baseball as compared to a litany of other American sports, “The ceaseless effort to discover rural traits in an essentially urban sport indicates the importance of the pastoral impulse in baseball” (Guttman 31) Moreover, Guttman goes on to further differentiate baseball from other sports with relation to the pastoral nature of the game, stating: “(Baseball) is a pastoral sport, and … the game can be best understood as this kind of art. For baseball creates an atmosphere in which everything exists in harmony” (Guttman 31). Guttman continues to provide a host of examples for how the pastoral elements of baseball have not only influenced the way the game is played but the unique and peculiar elements of the game ...Download file to see next pagesRead More