The Natural | Social Concerns/Themes
Malamud's first novel is a baseball story designed to portray aspects of American life including, but not limited to, a version of the Horatio Alger myth. It draws upon several well known episodes from baseball lore, such as the Black Sox scandal of 1919, the prowess of Babe Ruth (here represented as Walter "Whammer" Wambold), the shooting of Eddie Waitkus in a hotel in 1949 by a mad girl, and other incidents, along with colorful antics of players and their sometimes eccentric fans. But in patterning his story also on ancient legends, like the quest for the Holy Grail, Malamud provides...
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