Rhetoric Study

"My mother had her back to home plate; she had someone's eye- someone in the bleacher seats- and she was waving to whoever it was. She was past the third-base bag- on the third-base line, but still nearer third base than home plate- when Owen Meany started his swing. He appeared to start his swing before the ball left the pitcher's hand- it was a fast ball, such as they are in Little League play, but Owen's swing was well ahead of the ball, with which he made astonishing contact (a little in front of home plate, about chest-high). It was the hardest I'd ever seen him hit a ball, and the force of the contact was such a shock to Owen that he actually stayed on his feet- for once, he didn't fall down.
The crack of the bat was so unusually sharp and loud for a Little League game that the noise captured even my mother's wandering attention. She turned her head toward home plate- I guess, to see who had hit such a shot- and the ball struck her left temple, spinning her so quickly that one of her high heels broke and she fell forward, facing the stands, her knees splayed apart, her face hitting the ground first because her hands never moved from her sides (not even to break her fall), which later gave rise to the speculation that she was dead before she touched the earth." Pg.33

While John Irving makes it a point that the death of Tabitha was quick, and maybe even painless, he is able to create a sense of suspense, or climaxing, that goes on for more than a page. One piece of evidence of this was the minute Owen steps up to bat. The narrator, Johnny, makes it a point that Owen never bats, so when Owen has the opportunity, it shows a twist in the story. The next piece involves Johnny describing that when Owen does get the chance to bat (once in a bluemoon), their coach, Mr. Chickering, does not let Owen swing that bat- but that day...
"Usually, he said 'Have a good eye, Owen!' That meant, Don't swing at anything. But his day, Mr. Chickering said, 'Hit away kid!'"
At this point, it is obvious something is going to happen. I could not figure it out though. Will Owen get hit? Will the team miraculously win the game? Never did I see a main character actually dying . That is- until Johnny goes in to detail about his mom, who has come to the game late, and standing off to the side. He talks about what she's wearing, her facial expression, and how everyone else there seems to be watching her instead of the game.

By going in to detail about two major but different things in the scene, Irving is able to create a sense of climax- of what is going to happen next. It's ironic, in my opinion. On the one hand, he is basically saying exactly what is going to happen, all the reader has to do is put the two together. On the other hand, it is so unexpected, and horrible. Then again, the story starts off sharing this piece of information in the first sentence- "...or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death..". Even knowing this though, I did not see Tabby dying by a baseball.

Using detail was another effective way to create the climax of this scene. Whether describing Tabby- "...she had a nice tan, and the dress was simple, white cotton one...I realized that everyone was watching her...", or the traveling of the deadly baseball. Reading this was like watching a scene in slow-motion. By reading every detail, not only could I paint the perfect picture, but it made it seem all the more stretched out and suspenseful. Also with phrases such as "The crack of the bat" and "the force of the contact was such a shock", the climax rises as the ball does nearer and nearer to Tabby.