What are four selflessness-related quotes from Shoeless Joe?

There are several examples of selflessness in Shoeless Joe. Annie, Ray's wife, is particularly selfless, as she allows him to build a baseball field on their farm. She tells him, "Oh, love, if it makes you happy you should do it" (page 5). Annie's selflessness is particularly striking because she doesn't quite understand what he is doing. Ray says of Annie, "Annie understands, though it is me she understands and not always what is happening" (page 11). Annie is selfless enough to accept Ray's motivation for building the field, though she doesn't understand the magic that populates the field with reincarnated baseball players. Ray dedicates himself selflessly to building the field. He says, "Three seasons I've spent seeding, watering, fussing, praying, coddling that field like a sick child" (page 8). He puts endless time and resources into growing the field without knowing if his dreams will come true. 

Ray later tries to comfort J.D. Salinger, the writer who is living as a recluse in Vermont. He tells Salinger, "I want to renew you. I want to do something nice for you. I don't think I'm doing this for myself" (page 84). Ray is exercising selflessness, as he travels across the country, from Iowa to Vermont, to find Salinger and take him to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. His goal is to comfort Salinger and "ease his pain."

What are four questions about selflessness in Shoeless Joe?

One question would be what is selflessness?  Based on what is seen in Kinsella's work, how is selflessness defined?  How do specific characters' actions reflect it?  Explorations here could focus on the building of the diamond and Ray's embrace of his mission behind it.  

Another question might examine the role baseball plays in defining the characterizations in the novel. It could be framed as a position question: "Do you think people in Shoeless Joe are defined by their selfless love of baseball?"  This question requires an explanation of the relationship between selflessness, love of baseball, and specific characters in the narrative.

Another question could relate to the effects of selflessness in the novel.  It could be a question such as "Based on its depiction in Shoeless Joe, is selflessness entirely positive?"  This type of question will require selflessness to be shown in a complex manner.  For example, when Ray plows over his field, it puts a financial hardship on the family.  While selflessness is noble, those who are close to people who are selfless might experience challenging realities.  As with the previous questions, this one is nuanced and requires a higher-order approach to see something usually seen as only good as perhaps containing more complexity. 

A final question relating to selflessness relate to the athletic dimension: "Examining athletes in Shoeless Joe, what role does selflessness play in the pursuit of their success?  How does this compare to modern athletes?"  The first part of the question drives at the relationship that athletes like Shoeless Joe have towards selflessness.  In a time before excessive materialism and wide-ranging branding, what role did selflessness play in athletic pursuits?  An answer could get into the "love of the game" that is intrinsic to athletic selflessness.  Finally, exploring selflessness in terms of similarities and differences to modern athletes could be very interesting.  For example, how does the selflessness of Shoeless Joe Jackson compare to modern ballplayers like Barry Bonds, Mike Trout, or Alex Rodriguez?  It might be insightful to explore this dynamic and delve into a comparison of athletes then and now. 

The answers to these questions are going to be open-ended, driven by textual analysis and support.

What quotes illustrate selflessness in Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella?

The manner in which Kinsella depicts baseball shows some of the strongest examples of selflessness in Shoeless Joe.

The game of baseball is shown to be bigger than the individual.  Baseball is able to link different people from different time periods.  It is a unifying force that causes individuals to merge their own identity into something larger.  When Ray and Joe stand on the baseball field, the selflessness intrinsic to baseball's love is displayed:  “God what an outfield,' he says. 'What a left field.' He looks up at me, and I look down at him. 'This must be heaven,' he says."  Both men are from different time periods and hold different experiences.  Their only common link is baseball. As it binds both of them, baseball represents selflessness.  "Heaven" for both men is a baseball diamond.  Their own individual experiences dwarf in the face of baseball, a universal energy that transcends the individual self.  Salinger communicates this same selflessness when he talks about how the definition of America is inextricably connected to baseball:

I don't have to tell you that the one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has been erased like a blackboard, only to be rebuilt and then erased again. But baseball has marked time while America has rolled by like a procession of steamrollers.

Salinger stresses how so many different forces have exerted an impact on American identity.  Yet, baseball is "the one constant."  Salinger's point is that baseball forces individuals to put aside their own sense of self in the face of something larger and more encompassing.  In this regard, baseball forces people to be more selfless.  This devotion to baseball is where selflessness quotes can be seen in Kinsella's work.