Selfish The Description of Chick Benetto
31 At the end, his daughter, Maria, is born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island without
his presence to support his wife Albom 141. This shows how Chick does not attentive enough to his wife. He is too busy with his ambition to chase his career in a
baseball field. If he is not a selfish person, he should have thought about his wife’s condition. Moving from one country to other countries must be very tiring, especially
for a pregnant woman who needs to have more time to rest. Chick quits baseball not long after his daughter is born. He tries to find a
coaching position but he never gets it. So, he works as a salesman but he cannot work at it. Then, Chick attempts to have his own business. He wants to have a sports
bar. When he talks about his plan of having sports bar to his family, actua lly his wife and his mother do not really agree with him. However, Chick really insists on having
it. From the quotation below, it can be seen how Chick defends his desire. “But what do you know about running a restaurant?” my wife says. “It’s a
sports bar, I say. We are sitting at our dining room table. My mother is there as well, playing peek-a-boo with little Maria. This is after I’ve quit baseball.
A friend wants me to partner in a new business.
“But isn’t it hard to run a bar?” Catherine says. “Aren’t there things you have to know about?”
“He knows that stuff,” I say. “What do you think, Mom?” Catherine asks.
My mother takes Maria’s hands and flops them up and down. “Would you have to work nights, Charley?”, she asks.
“What?” “Nights. Would you have to work nights?”
“I’m the investor, Mom. I’m not gonna wait tables.” PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
32 “It’s a lot of money,” Catherine says.
“If you don’t invest money, you can’t make money,” I say. Isn’t there something besides this?” Catherine says.
I exhale loudly. In truth, I don’t know what there is. When you play sports, you train yourself not to think too much about anything else. I can’t imagine
myself behind a desk. This is a bar. I know about bars. I have already begun a reliance on alcohol as part of my daily existence and secretly there is appeal
in having it so handy. Plus, the place has the word “sports” in it Albom 162.
Actually, Chick wants to have his own sports bar because he likes drinking alcohol as it is a part of his daily routine last time and now he wants to have it as a
part of his business to finance his life and family. His reasons to own a sports bar is mostly to satisfy his ego. Once Chick has his own plan, he will try to pursue it and
ignore everything which is not included in his plan. Even though it is his own wife who is worried and is not certain enough with his plan or his mother who worries if
his work later will require a lot of time while Chick still has a little daughter and a wife to take care of.
His selfishness can also be seen when he decides to join the Old Timers Game. It is his mother’s birthday party and he should have had much fun with his
family instead of thinking about his father’s offer about the Old Timers Game. When he decides to go, he has to lie to his family. He tells them that he has to fly to meet
his client and have a meeting on Sunday, whereas Chick has made an appointment with his mother, wife and daughter to have brunch together on Sunday. Although his
mother has asked him to cancel his meeting, Chick insists on going and he cancels his appointment with his family instead. His decision to go disappoints his family
Albom 161. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
33