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

3. Ambitious

Chick is an ambitious person. If he wants something, he will struggle to get it. It can be seen from his manner. When he has finished playing for The Pirates in the World Series, he never stops practicing. Chick really wants to play in the World Series again, and he never stops although he gets an accident in his spring training which injures his knee in anterior, posterior and medial collateral ligaments. This following quotation shows how Chick really misses to have a bright career in baseball. You see, I was more alive in those six weeks with the Pirates than I ever felt before or since. The spotlight had made me feel immortal. I missed the huge, carpeted locker room. I missed walking through airports with my teammates, feeling the eyes of the fans as we passed. I missed the crowds in those big stadiums, the flashbulbs, the roaring cheers – the majesty of the whole thing. I missed it bitterly… And so I clung to baseball long after I should have quit. I went from minor- league city to minor- league city, still believing, as athletes often do, that I would be the first to defy the aging process Albom 141. Chick still keeps his ambition although, as an athlete, he is not in his best condition anymore. He still looks for the opportunities by keeping on playing in some games. After ten years playing baseball, Chick finally quits from his baseball carrier. He works as a salesman. He never feels happy with his job. Chick does not want to be an ordinary person. He does not want people to forget him easily Albom 136. He really wants to play baseball another ten years although actually his condition does not enable him to make any achievements in baseball anymore. Yet, Chick still keeps his ambition to play baseball deep inside his heart. 34

4. Wishy-washy

People should have got self determination to achieve the goal in their life. People have to be well-determined once they have certain purpose. However, Chick is a person who has no self determination in his life. His goal always changes based on the one who has stronger influence in his life at that time Albom 132. This characteristic can be seen from his manner. When his father is leaving, Chick’s mother has bigger influence on him. Chick goes to college and he gets good grades for the subjects. However, when his father suddenly comes back into his life, Chick drops out of college to play minor league baseball. I dropped out to play minor league baseball, at my father’s suggestion and to my mother’s everlasting disappointment. I had been offered a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, to play winter ball and hopefully make their minor league roster. My father felt this was the right time. “You can’t get any better playing against college kids,” he said. When I first mentioned the idea to my mother, she screamed, “Absolutely not” It didn’t matter that baseball would pay me. It didn’t matter that the scouts thought I had potential – maybe enough to make it to the major leagues. “Absolutely not” were her words. And I absolutely ignored her. I went to the registrar’s office, told them I was leaving, packed up a duffel bag, and split Albom 131-132. From the quotation, it can be seen that Chick does not have his own life determination. He cannot decide his own choice whether he wants to focus on his study or his baseball career. Once somebody comes and influences his mind, Chick can directly shift his focus. He is an unstable person.