FIRST, analyze a paragraph written by Mrs. Gillmore proving one theme in Ernest Lawrence Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat."
- Develop a thematic topic sentence.
- Provide three chunks to support the thesis.
- Introduce evidence with signal phrases and support with commentary.
- Conclude with a concluding sentence.
"Casey at the Bat" is a poem that demonstrates that the mob mentality lies within us all.
Poet Ernest Lawrence Thayer initiates the mob in stanza nine as "from the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar." The noise, the "muffled roar" symbolizes the increased emotions of the crowd, who is pictured as "black," a color often associated with negative connotations. These people are no longer moms, dads, aunts, uncles, friends. United, they begin the move to resistance.
The mob's emotions then intensifies as Thayer writes, "Kill him! Kill the umpire!".../And it's likely they'd akilled him had not Casey raised his hand." First, one has to note that Casey has been promoted to dictator status, with all his power residing in that one hand gesture, that simple raise of the hand. Oh, the power he has. Growing in intensity, this crowd is no longer muffled as the words "kill" are clearly heard by all, illustrating the growing twisted thoughts of the crowd who are now angry at the umpire, the umpire who simply does his job.
Illustrating the completeness of the mob's mental status, poet Thayer assists this as the reader hears, "Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands" as Casey "pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate." The crowd has gone completely mad, having lost their ability to reason, having lost their humanity, becoming a pack of animals ready to follow the alpha dog to "violence."
Thus, this poem takes the reader from a crowd of fans to a pack of animals, truly supporting the theme that within us all lie that mob mentality.
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