Pop Quiz for Baseball Heaven

• What well-known poem does Mary describe in scene 25?

  Extra Credit: Speaking of poetry, what lesser-known American poem does Bruce pun in the same scene?

• What is the significance of the list of twelve cities Bruce recites in scene 22?

• What is so funny about Bruce feeding Mary salmon and pasta (scene 23)?

• What is the significance of Mary's birthday? scene 8?

• What is ironic about Bruce and Mary, two fictitious characters in a low-budget film, being shut out of the amusement park Great America? scene 11?

• In scene 2, the names of 8 fictitious San Francisco Bay Area Catholic schools are mentioned. Is there a similar theme to these names? Describe a general theme and one school name that breaks the pattern you describe.

• What does it mean to "have a sweet tooth" (scene 7)? Aside from having a weakness for sugar, can you speculate on a second meaning for this term?

• Bruce's voiceover in scene 12 is actually a disguised biblical reference. Name the reference. (Hint: The author gives a similar reference elsewhere on the page.)

• Using Mary's weight in the poem Sunset, what gold price did Bruce use to calculate Mary's "gold worth" in scene 39? (Remember to convert to troy ounces.)

• Decipher Carol's witty acrostic (scene 15).

• Extra Credit: Translate the Latin that Bruce speaks in scene 26.

Take Home Essay:

One reviewer contends that Baseball Heaven is actually a parody of the 1965 film A Patch of Blue.Watch this film. Do you agree or disagree? Site references to both works to defend your position.

parody - n. A literary or artistic work that broadly mimics an author's style and holds it up to ridicule.