The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: Section I

Throughout section one, Chad Harbach introduces the reader to the main characters: Henry, Owen, Affenlight, Schwartz, and Pella. Here is what I know and think so far:

Henry: He is described as the “smallest player on the field” (3) but has a greater love for baseball than any other on his team. He thinks, breathes, and sleeps baseball and it shows through his majestic footwork and effortless but perfectly-targeted throws. He is the best player on his team until during one play “a gust whipped up off the water, to be sure, but could the strongest gust do this? — the ball, having already covered a third of its path, veered sharply” (69) and caused the ball to knock out a player, Owen Dunne. Henry, who had never made a mistake in his entire baseball career, continues to replay the incident in his head and as a result, overthinks every move he makes, and cannot play the same. Ultimately, the security he felt in knowing he was the best was what caused his downfall.

Owen: He is Henry’s teammate and “gay mulatto roommate” (18). Owen is a fashion-savvy and thoughtful soul who is infatuated with the idea of love. He also indulges in smoking marijuana in his dorm room on a regular basis. His greatest love, his love for reading is what causes him to experience much more physical pain than can be expressed (he was reading on the bench during the baseball game instead of paying attention).

Schwartz: He is the catcher and strongest player on the baseball team, he demands respect from most people he encounters, and he also spends majority of his time bettering Henry as a player. He is more dedicated to Henry’s success than his own which interests me — maybe he is so focused on Henry because Henry actually has the potential to go professional, maybe he is trying to live his life through Henry, or maybe he just honestly cares for Henry and has grown attached — hopefully, that will become more clear. I believe it to be the latter as Schwartz personally scouted Henry and he even started a brawl with the original star shortstop so that Henry would be put into the game and that seems like a waste of time and energy if Schwartz is only helping Henry for personal gain.

Guert Affenlight: He is the president of Westish College and father of Pella. He seems to be lost and confused in life even though he is successful. He has always had a tough time relating to his daughter, supporting others, and allowing himself to be affectionate. Except when it comes to Owen, who Affenlight oddly has a crush on. Even though Affenlight holds the title of ‘president’, he spends his energy trying to please Owen. During his attempts to open up to Owen, he internally struggles with his own sexuality. Throughout the first section, Affenlight’s thoughts are constantly either of Owen and his “loveliness” or of him continuously trying to convince himself that maybe he does like females and just does not know what he is doing. Because Affenlight is such an unhappy man, I think Harbach includes him as a character in order to portray the ideas that success does not equal happiness and that one cannot be content if one is not being his or her “true” self.

Pella: She is the only female main character and is also the most defiant character of them all. For example, she got a tattoo while she was in middle school and then she dropped out of high school to run off with a 31 year old man (leading to a failed marriage and trips to a psychiatrist), cutting off communication with her father for years. Pella was always mature for her young age and found interest in things that were “beyond her years”. She was also attracted to things that gave her the opportunity to love and feel loved, something she was unable to experience with her father.

All of these characters in The Art of Fielding are completely different from one another but yet, they complement one another well. At first, this eclectic group of characters surprised me because I did not think it was a realistic grouping, or at least it would not be in Carteret County, as those characters would probably not voluntarily hang out if given the choice. In section one, Harbach reveals that Henry’s parents are homophobic and that they have a problem with Henry’s roommate, even though Henry does not. I expected characters to be homophobic but I was surprised that it happened to be such minor characters. In some cases, older people do care more about sexuality than the younger generations but that does not mean that younger people do not care so it bothers me a little that homophobia is made to be such a small problem.

I’ve pondered the reasons why Harbach would put individuals with such opposing personalities and interests together, possibly to paint his ideal view of the world where everyone gets along or just because it makes for a more interesting novel. If for the entertainment value, he is definitely succeeding. It is hard to predict what is going to happen with one of these characters but I’m excited to see what unfolds!

Word Count: 881