Rainbow Curve by Michael Boylan

Rainbow Curve by Michael Boylan

 In the passage, Bo was trying to penetrate one of the best baseball teams in Chicago. Bo visited matches in the city where he begged Sam Dowel, the coach of Chicago Cubs, to give him a chance to try and pitch at the time when the teams were having a short break. Bo was able to pitch within a short period, and the managers who were present grew some interest in recruiting Bo in their baseball clubs including Rainbow Billy Champ. After the matches, the clerk of the club was requested to interrogate Bo Mellan who ended up cutting his birth certificate.

The most pivotal part of the passage that relates to the theme of discrimination in the book is pages 18-22. The theme of discrimination provides the basis of conflict in the book between Bo and Buddy Bael. In the excerpt, Bael ridiculed Bo by as he was a small boy at this time. Instead of envisaging on the other qualities of a baseball player like the depth of pitching, Bael was only blinded by his age in which he was long. The clerk who was interrogating Bo had manifested a high level of discrimination when he assumed he could treat Bo in the manner he wants as he was poor and no position.

Michael Boylan applied the description to portray scenarios and paint pictures so as the reader can have a comprehensive understanding of contexts. For instance, when Bo’s certificate was tone by the clerk, an officer came to escort him after he was handcuffed. Bo provides a perspicuous description of a man who visited Bo. “In another part of the city, south of the Loop, the thin black man made his way carefully into an unpretending brownstone hotel. The ageing figure moved with athletic figure grace that seemed to flow and could not be hidden even by his baggy, blue brushed cotton trousers.” The man described was Rainbow Billy Champ. Through the description, the reader has a full image of how Rainbow looked like including what he was wearing on that day.

Michael Boylan used topes to give additional meaning to the objects that he was referring to. In most of the cases, Boylan would describe Buddy Bael as a pot-bellied figure or the bald Bael. These words helped to figure out how Bael looked like. Besides, Boylan would use the words like a blue-eyed, aspiring pitcher or curly hair Bo. Boylan also referred to Billy Champ as the cockroach. “Then he looked up again. But the cockroach had vanished.”  Similes have also been incorporated. For instance, “look at him­­­­­­­­‑ standing there like a bum.”

Boylan used imagery to explain a various phenomenon like whether. For example, he describes how strong the wind was when Bo Mellan and Rainbow were conversing in a room. “A breeze blew the gray window sheers that stood in front of greasy brown shades that were wound loosely atop. Crooked, double sashed window.

The particular point of the book that mirrors the book is the conversion of Sam Dowel and Buddy Bael about Bo. Bael thinks that Bo is too young to be playing the baseball for Chicago Cubs which was a big club. Further, Bael was judging Bo according to his body posture instead of concentrating on whether he can play and how far he can go. I disagree with this point of view as it is more concerned with the physical appearance and age which is contradictory to the qualities that should be considered when hiring a team player such as skills and expertise, potential, human interrelations, and cultural fit.

Theoretical Philosophical principles

One of the essential principles that relate to except is the principle of happiness and virtue. According to Plato in his dialogues, happiness is achieved when all the people receive equal benefits. This principle is not satisfied in the except as it seems that age is a barrier for people to obtain what they desire in life. Bo was optimistic and willing to get membership in Chicago Cubs but was unable just because he was 16 years old. However, his happiness was now being determined by his age which cannot be solved as it implies that he should wait for at least two years before he joins the baseball club. The theme of discrimination is, therefore, evident, which is contrary to the philosophical principles, especially Plato.

According to the principle of rationality, one should be able to differentiate what is wrong and right. A profound society is built on ethical values that govern how people treat each other. The social setting of the setting proves that people just did what they have to do to get what they want without caring for each other without a reference to a particular code of ethics propagated in their social life. For instance, when the clerk toned the birth certificate of Bo, it reflected a moral decay as he did care whether he was doing the right thing or not. When Bo tried to question his behaviour, he called the security guards to take him away from where he was violently handcuffed. Bo was innocent, but he suffered for something that he did not commit. In respect to the author’s theme of social discrimination, the principle of rationality is negatively affected as the characters in the passage portray immense towards one another.

Plato advocated that for social justice to prevail, equity is paramount. According to Plato, equity is derived when people in a social environment, whether in the justice system or normal interaction value each other without considering socio-economic status or other aspects of diversity. In the except, this principle is negatively affected as most of the characters are found of treating each in accordance to what they can derive. The characters are more concerned about their benefits rather than the negative impacts that they pose to the other people around them. For instance, the immigration officer maltreated Bo just because he was poor and had no significant position, which means that Bo was unable to defend himself, whether in the legal system or person.

            Significance

My reaction to the author’s theme of social discrimination is adverse as gushed in the above philosophical principles. The social environment that has been presented in the case is wretched, and people care about themselves and ignore the well-being of the other people that are around them. The society manifests a system that is misguided and inadequate code of ethics. In a well-evolved society, people support each other and are considerate on how they treat each other to ensure everyone achieves their goals instead of shunning each other.

Moral decay in the current society has been depicted in the except, especially in the political and socio-economic spheres. There are several incidences wherein the social realm one has to be economically stable to be able to achieve their goals and objectives. The immoral behaviour inhibits a society to grow in terms of economics and social cohesion as most of the people are denied their opportunities that they deserve. The fact that the people who are supposed to provide a direction for the young and talented are ignorant, then it instils a negative perception in their minds that consequently inhibits them from perusing their talents. It also breeds a greedier governance system as the young ones grow up with an impression that for one to be able to survive the moral code has to be put aside.

One of the main aspects in the real world that have been elucidated in respect to the except is social discrimination in the political setting where most of the people are treated in terms of how economically stable they are. Those who are stable are treated with respect and opportunities are highly awarded to them, and those who have no position and money are ill-treated and left in disguise. This concept provides justification as to why there is a high disparity between the people with a high socio-economic class and those ranked within middle and lower socio-economic classes in the society. Further, social discrimination is also based on ethnicity. The minority groups, especially in multi-racial states in America, are prone to social bias, and only a few of them can rise above the bar and make their way out. For instance, the Latin Americans, Arab Americans, and African Americans face social discrimination based on their inherent cultural and background traits.