In John Updike’s poem, “Ex-Basketball Player”, he uses the narrative poetry genre to effectively demonstrate his purpose: to convince readers that specializing in one specific area may not offer a reliable career, so it is important to consider additional options. Narrative poetry genre is effective because it allows Updike to convey his story through narrative elements such as characterization and setting in an elevated way through poetic elements such as rhyme and figurative language. Two narrative elements that assist in portraying Updike’s purpose are characterization and setting. Characterization of the main character, Flick Webb, effectively displays Updike’s purpose. This is shown when the narrator explains, “As a gag, he dribbles