The Great American Novel: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Great American Novel: Analysis of Major Characters" explores a narrative centered around the fictional Patriot Baseball League, intertwining themes of personal ambition, political intrigue, and the complexity of human relationships against a backdrop of American cultural history. The story is narrated by Word Smith (Smitty), a sportswriter and resident of a nursing home, who recounts the downfall of the league and his experiences as a witness to its pivotal events. Key characters include General Douglas O. Oakhart, a rule-bound league president whose decisions inadvertently lead to the league's collapse; Gil Gamesh, a talented but temperamental pitcher whose actions set off a chain of events that spirals into political scandal and personal tragedy; and Ulysses S. Fairsmith, the well-meaning manager of the struggling Ruppert Mundys, whose faith is tested amidst the team's misfortunes.
The narrative also features Mike Masterson, the umpire whose integrity and desire for justice become central to the unfolding drama, and Angela Whitling Trust, the former socialite turned conservative team owner who embodies the shifting attitudes of the era. Through these characters, the analysis highlights the interplay between personal failings and larger socio-political phenomena, offering a rich tapestry of commentary on American identity and the complexities of its past. This exploration invites readers to consider both the individual and collective narratives that shape the concept of the Great American Novel.
The Great American Novel: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Philip Roth
First published: 1973
Genre: Novel
Locale: The eastern and midwestern United States
Plot: Social satire
Time: 1943–1944, with flashbacks to the early twentieth century and prologue and epilogue set in the late 1960's or early 1970's
Word Smith (Smitty), the novel's narrator, a longtime sportswriter currently residing at the Valhalla nursing home. Smitty's prologue establishes his credentials as a writer (noting, in particular, his love of alliteration) and as a witness to the events, recounted in the main body of the book, that led to the demise of the Patriot Baseball League, the memory of which has been wiped clean from American history. Smitty appears later in the book in his role as a sportswriter and commentator, and as a defiant witness before Congress' House Committee on Un-American Activities. In the epilogue, Smitty, having been rebuffed by American publishers, likens himself to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the Soviet Union and is attempting to have The Great American Novel published in the People's Republic of China.
General Douglas O. Oakhart, the president of the Patriot Baseball League and a stickler for rules. During the 1934 season, Oakhart assigns his best umpire, Mike Masterson, to officiate games pitched by Gil Gamesh, a temperamental rookie phenomenon. This selection accidentally sets in motion events leading to the destruction of the Patriot League. At the close of the 1934 season, Oakhart bans Gamesh from baseball for purposefully injuring Masterson. Ten years later, Oakhart reluctantly reinstates Gamesh as a means of combating an alleged communist insurgency in the Patriot League. Ironically, this campaign leads to the demise of the Patriot League. It also serves as the springboard for Oakhart's subsequent career in politics.
Gil Gamesh, an all-star left-handed pitcher of Babylonian descent, banished from the Patriot League in 1934, at the end of his rookie season. His only problem was a hideous temper. When a missed call by umpire Mike Masterson delays the conclusion of Gamesh's perfect game, the tempestuous lefty hits Masterson in the throat with the next pitch, ending the umpire's career and bringing about his own expulsion from baseball. After disappearing from the scene for a decade, Gamesh reemerges as a Soviet double agent. With the help of Angela Whitling Trust, Gamesh convinces General Oakhart that there is a communist conspiracy afoot in the Patriot League that only he (Gamesh) can expose. Gamesh is named manager of the hapless Ruppert Mundys and, after a tragic shooting, “names names,” causing a scandal that brings about the league's downfall. Once again, Gamesh drops out of sight, reappearing at Stalin's side in state-approved photographs before finally being executed by the Soviet secret police.
Ulysses S. Fairsmith, the manager of the Ruppert Mundys during their hapless (and homeless) 1943 season. When the 1943 Mundys are evicted from their home park as part of the war effort, Fairsmith sees this as an opportunity for a spiritually uplifting experience. A deeply religious man, Fairsmith likens the Mundys to the Hebrews of the Old Testament and sees himself as a Mosaic figure. To be sure, Fairsmith has had experience with adversity. He was nearly killed by angry natives while teaching the game of baseball in Africa. That was somewhat disheartening, but the Mundys are so pathetic that, in the end, Fairsmith cannot cope; he stops attending Mundy games and begins to lose his faith in God. A 31 to 0 loss on the final day of the season (after a miraculous winning streak has drawn Fairsmith back to the Mundy dugout) is too much for the old skipper. After the last out is recorded on an incredible baserunning blunder, Fairsmith, feeling forsaken by God, rolls off his rocker and dies on the dugout floor.
Mike Masterson, known as Mike the Mouth, the umpire injured by Gil Gamesh. The most famous, and vocal, umpire of his era, Masterson proved his integrity early in his career when he refused to influence illegally the outcome of a ball game, even though gangsters threatened (and later killed) his young daughter. When Oakhart assigned Masterson to Gamesh, the veteran empire did his best to give the young phenomenon his due without sacrificing the rules of the game. Pretty soon, however, the strain of working with Gamesh began to tell. Finally, Masterson completely misses a call because he believes that he has spotted the man who abducted his daughter. Gamesh's next pitch hits Masterson in the throat, ruining his voice. Masterson is not satisfied with Gamesh's expulsion from the game; he wants the left-hander prosecuted for criminal assault. To this end, he travels from ballpark to ballpark with a blackboard, laying out his case before skeptical baseball fans. When Gamesh is reinstated, Masterson attempts an assassination, killing Roland Agni but only wounding Gamesh. The old former umpire then crawls off and dies of a heart attack.
Roland Agni, a star center fielder, definitely out of place on the Ruppert Mundys because he is young, strong, and in possession of all his limbs. Roland winds up with the Mundys because his father thinks that he needs a healthy dose of humility. He stays a Mundy because his draft board thinks that only some hidden malady would have landed so good a physical specimen on so bad a baseball team; they pronounce Roland 4-F. Frustrated, Roland attempts to engineer a trade to a better team. He is rebuffed by Angela Whitling Trust. The Ellis family, scandalously Jewish owners of the Tri-City Greenbacks, are interested in Roland, but the Mundys'asking price is too high. Young Isaac Ellis, a boy genius, gives Roland some spiked Wheaties breakfast cereal to feed the Mundy players and plans to make enough money on bets to purchase Roland's contract. This leads to the Mundy winning streak. On the last day of the season, Agni's conscience prompts him to fail to substitute the charged-up Wheaties. This leads to the 31 to 0 loss and Ulysses Fairsmith's death. Roland reports reluctantly for the 1944 season. Just as he is about to decide whether to risk exposure for the Wheaties incident by turning Gamesh in as a Soviet agent, he is shot to death by Mike Masterson.
Angela Whitling Trust, the owner of the Tri-City Tycoons. Before the death of her husband, Spenser, Angela is best known for her romantic trysts with prominent ballplayers such as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Prince Charles Tuminikar, Luke Gofannon, and Gil Gamesh. After her husband is mortally injured in an accident, he chides her from his deathbed to become “responsible.” Angela changes her ways drastically. She takes over the Tycoons, becoming the most conservative owner in the league. She also becomes a vigilant anticommunist, ever alert to the Soviet conspiracy against the foundation of American morale, organized baseball. It is Angela who rebuffs Roland Agni, pointing out that without him the Mundys would completely undermine the image of the Patriot League. It is also Angela who arranges to have Gamesh reinstated so that he can use his Soviet training to counter this conspiracy.