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John Updike's The Ex-Basketball Player

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John Updike poem “The Ex-Basketball player” is a form free verse poem written in third person narrator about a young man, Flick Webb who still lives in his past rather than moving forward in his life. Flick Webb who was once a great basketball player during his high school years but now he just “sells gas, checks oil, and changes flats.” Flick is an indeed example towards high school students of what not to be. A person should not cling to one important memory in one’s life but should move further and be capable of doing something beyond. Flick Webb in this poem is a role model, especially teenagers, of what not to end up like. Updike uses certain figurative language effectively to lead the reader through Flick’s life- principal road in town that decides his future, lowly job and his menial habits. …show more content…

“Pearl Avenue bends with the trolly tracks, and stops, cut off before it has the chance to go two blocks.” This part represents the principal road in town that did not go further and ended at a dead end. At the end of the road is Berth’s Garage “you’ll find Flick Webb, who helps Berth Out” which refers to that Flick is not well known as he used to be in high school and now is he only occasionally seen. “Berth’s Garage is on the corner facing west” the use of diction “facing west” literally reflects upon how the sun sets off to the west leading darkness. The darkness indirectly refers to Flick’s future ahead of

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