The Southpaw: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Southpaw: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics and diverse personalities within a professional baseball team, focusing on the central character, Henry Whittier Wiggen, a talented left-handed pitcher for the New York Mammoths. At just twenty-one, Henry embodies both innocence and ambition, grappling with the pressures of fame, personal ethics, and the challenges of a racially charged environment. His journey includes impressive athletic accomplishments and moral dilemmas, such as facing backlash for having a black roommate and resisting participation in a war-related tour.
Supporting characters add depth to Henry's story, including his wife Holly, who serves as his moral compass, and his father Pop, a former minor league player who raises Henry alone after the death of his wife. The narrative also highlights figures like the wise but reclusive Aaron Webster, who shelters Henry’s development, and Mike Mulrooney, who humanizes the coaching role. Other team members, such as Sad Sam—a disillusioned star pitcher—and Red Traphagen, an intellectual catcher, represent various attitudes towards life and baseball, illustrating the complexities of individual dreams and team dynamics. Overall, the analysis reveals a rich tapestry of character interactions set against the backdrop of professional sports, social issues, and personal growth.
The Southpaw: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Mark Harris
First published: 1953
Genre: Novel
Locale: New York City and fictitious locations
Plot: Social morality
Time: 1952
Henry Whittier Wiggen, a left-handed pitcher for the New York Mammoths. The twenty-one-year-old rookie is an innocent who is reluctant to be corrupted by a cynical world, cocky about his pitching prowess, and unashamedly cowardly when confronted by violence. Henry grows up in Perkinsville, New York, believing that he will be the greatest pitcher of all time. He wins twenty-six games in his first season, is named the league's most valuable player, and leads his team to the world championship. His controversial year includes taunts for having a black roommate, back pain caused by the tension of the pennant race, refusal to take a postseason tour to Korea because of his opposition to the war, and an obscene gesture at hecklers during the World Series.
Holly Webster Wiggen, Henry's wife. Before they are married, she is a rebel unable to live with her parents in Baltimore; she lives with her uncle next door to Henry, seduces him, and reads him poetry. As Henry's moral conscience, Holly finally accepts his fourth proposal, once he has proven that he is an individual.
Pop Wiggen, Henry's father. Despite great promise, he quits professional baseball after two years in the minor leagues, never explaining why. He drives a school bus, is caretaker at Aaron Webster's observatory, pitches semiprofessional baseball, and rears his son alone after his wife dies when the boy is two years old.
Aaron Webster, Holly's uncle. An eighty-year-old intellectual, he runs an observatory that he refuses to allow the government to use during World War II. He also declines to pay taxes that promote war. Aaron convinces Pop, his best friend, not to force the young Henry to become a right-hander.
Mike Mulrooney, Henry's minor league manager. He wins Henry's admiration by treating all his players as human beings and teaches the youngster more about baseball than even Pop has.
Herman H. “Dutch” Schnell, the Mammoths' manager. Alternately a stern disciplinarian and a kindly grandfather, Dutch will do anything to motivate his players, though he resents that they have different personalities.
Samuel Delbert Yale, called Sad Sam, the Mammoths'long-time star pitcher. Soured on life, Sam does not enjoy baseball, money, or sex. As a boy, Henry worships Sam, talking to his photograph and rereading his autobiography, only to discover years later that his idol is a phony.
Berwyn Phillips “Red” Traphagen, the Mammoths' catcher. The smartest player in professional baseball, Red is a Harvard graduate, an atheist, and a pacifist. He helps guide Henry's development as a pitcher, worrying that the youngster will hurt his arm by throwing the screwball.
Robert Stanley “Ugly” Jones, the Mammoths' shortstop. Unattractive because of a misaligned jaw, Ugly is nevertheless a ladies' man, married to a film actress. He ends his salary holdout only when Patricia Moors goes to bed with him. His jaw is fixed after it is broken in a fistfight.
Perry Garvey Simpson, a rookie second baseman. The only African American on the team for most of the season, he is not allowed in hotels and restaurants during spring training in Florida. A hustler and student of the game, he is Henry's roommate until a second black player joins the Mammoths.
Bruce William Pearson, Jr., the third-string catcher and Henry's second roommate. Unsophisticated and slow-witted, he is the butt of his teammates' jokes. He gets drunk once a year, en route to spring training, because he knows he will play less than he desires.
Patricia Moors, the vice president of the team owned by her father. Beautiful, bored, and an alcoholic at the age of thirty, she will do anything for the good of the Mammoths, including sleeping with the players, but she resists Henry's schoolboy advances.
Krazy Kress, a sports columnist. Grossly overweight, self-serving, and opportunistic, he attacks Henry as an ungrateful, unpatriotic, and obnoxious whiner, giving the young pitcher the impetus to write an honest book about baseball.
John Llewellyn “Coker” Roguski and Earle Banning “Canada” Smith, other Mammoth rookies. With Henry and Perry, they form a locker room quartet invited to sing on television.
Lester T. Moors, Jr., an automobile manufacturer who owns the Mammoths.