Analysis of WP Kinsella's Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa: A Man Who Loves Iowa, His Wife and Daughter, and Baseball
In the short story “Shoeless Joe Jackson comes to Iowa”, Kinsella provides insight about
a man who loves Iowa, his wife (Annie), his daughter (Karin), and lastly baseball.
The setting of the story takes place on a rural farm in Iowa where Ray made a baseball field
because he was told by a voice of a baseball announcer “If you build it, they will come”. (Pickering
pg 740) Ray and Annie had bought this farm, years ago, to plant and cultivate corn and to raise their
daughter in a safe environment. Ray, who was a baseball enthusiast, was told to build this field for
“Shoeless” Joe Jackson and his teammates to play baseball. He had no idea on how or why he might
even begin to build this great field. So he started small with the field, he built a magnificent left field
first for Joe. All the townspeople had heard what Ray was building and they thought he must have
been crazy. Because he was taking a big section of his corn field and was turning it into a baseball
diamond, he was going to be losing a huge profit in the harvest season for years to come. His
remarkable wife went along with these plans and said,”Oh love, if it makes you happy, you should do
it.”(Pickering pg 741) So Ray began on this project which took him several months just to build the
left field for Mr. Jackson, whom he had never even met. So when Ray hears the baseball announcers
voice “If you build it they will come”,(Pickering pg. 740) he ,of course, was Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Joe was born in Brandon Mills, South Carolina in July of 1887 and died in Greenville, South Carolina
in December of 1951. Joe Jackson was the best left fielder that Ty Cobb had ever seen. Joe’s glove is
the “place where triples go to die.”(Pickering pg. 741)
Shoeless Joe Jackson was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the
early 20th century. He will always be remembered by his performance on the field and for
his
a man who loves Iowa, his wife (Annie), his daughter (Karin), and lastly baseball.
The setting of the story takes place on a rural farm in Iowa where Ray made a baseball field
because he was told by a voice of a baseball announcer “If you build it, they will come”. (Pickering
pg 740) Ray and Annie had bought this farm, years ago, to plant and cultivate corn and to raise their
daughter in a safe environment. Ray, who was a baseball enthusiast, was told to build this field for
“Shoeless” Joe Jackson and his teammates to play baseball. He had no idea on how or why he might
even begin to build this great field. So he started small with the field, he built a magnificent left field
first for Joe. All the townspeople had heard what Ray was building and they thought he must have
been crazy. Because he was taking a big section of his corn field and was turning it into a baseball
diamond, he was going to be losing a huge profit in the harvest season for years to come. His
remarkable wife went along with these plans and said,”Oh love, if it makes you happy, you should do
it.”(Pickering pg 741) So Ray began on this project which took him several months just to build the
left field for Mr. Jackson, whom he had never even met. So when Ray hears the baseball announcers
voice “If you build it they will come”,(Pickering pg. 740) he ,of course, was Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Joe was born in Brandon Mills, South Carolina in July of 1887 and died in Greenville, South Carolina
in December of 1951. Joe Jackson was the best left fielder that Ty Cobb had ever seen. Joe’s glove is
the “place where triples go to die.”(Pickering pg. 741)
Shoeless Joe Jackson was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the
early 20th century. He will always be remembered by his performance on the field and for
his
Cited: Fleitz, David L. Shoeless The Life and Times of Joe Jackson. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland &Co. Inc. 2001 Morrow, David. Black Sox Scandal. In Campbell, Ballard C., PH.D., gen.ed. 2008 Pickering, James H. Fiction 100. Pearson Education. Inc. 2012 Shoeless Joe Jackson and his Tragedy Jason Ebeling English Composition 2 Professor Moeller Nov. 15 2012