Why does the speaker describe Flick’s hands so often, and what does this series of images mean?

Humanities

Objectives
Describe how to narrow the focus of a topic in the humanities.
Explain the type of documentation styles needed for the humanities.

Step 1: Read the poem and its related content
Go to http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172264 (Links to an external site.) in order to read “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike. Note that the “About this Poem” section contains other information that may be helpful to you in this assignment.

Step 2: Select a question and identify words, images, or aspects of the poem that support your answers

Choose one of the questions below as a starting point for your literary analysis of this poem.

List your answers and provide evidence from the poem to support your ideas. See this page (Links to an external site.) for information regarding how to format in-text citation of poetry; also explore “Quoting Poetry (Links to an external site.)”.

Does the poem’s speaker pity or admire Flick? Are readers meant to pity or admire Flick?

Does Flick belong in the scenes where the speaker describes him? If so, why? If not, what effect does that have on the poem’s meaning?

Why does the speaker describe Flick’s hands so often, and what does this series of images mean?