The Ball

 

John Berryman

The theme of the poem is that life is precious and should not be wasted. Life has to be lived. And life can be lived purposefully and fruitfully only when we stand up and come out of depression. The young boy lost his ball.

 

Summary

This poem is about losing something which we love and then learning to grow up. It is about a little boy, who in his young life, for the first time, is learning what it is like to experience grief after the loss of a much-beloved possession which is here his ball. Maybe for us, the loss of a ball is of minor consequence. Our natural reaction may be that still there are many more balls. So, need not worry. But to a little boy, this is something different. One can get another ball with a very less amount of money. But, money is external and immortal here, as it cannot buy back the love and hence cannot replace the things that we love. In this poem, the boy’s ball van is easily personifying with his young days and which were happy and innocent. People may take balls just as they will take away our innocence and force us to grow up soon. And once we lose our innocence, then we cannot get it back. But, despite all of these we have to learn to stand up. Obviously we need to be strong and get on with our life, irrespective of the sadness inside. This is the only way we will survive. Therefore, we have to learn to accept and let go. The poet has made the use of the imagery while telling how the ball personifies the spirit of the boy’s childish innocence. We may visualize how the spirit of this little boy, like the ball, is sinking into the dark waters of the harbour. And as it drifts further away, the little boy will learn to grow up, and that part is linked to that ball grows up as well, until it is no longer a little boy. Thus the reader may interpret this poem literally and metaphorically both. If literally, then it is a soulful picture of little boys growing up and learning to deal with the loss of the first in his possession. If metaphorically, then it is the story of mankind learning to deal with the loss of their loved things or people.

 

Critical Analysis

This poem can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. If taken literally, it is a soulful picture of little boys growing up and learning to deal with the loss of the first thing he has ever held dear. If taken metaphorically, it is the story of mankind learning to deal with the loss of their loved ones. The ball is a metaphor for everything that we think is irreplaceable in our lives. It is obvious that anything that is irreplaceable is very valuable to us, and it is our responsibility to take care of those things. People taking away one’s ball or one’s ball getting lost is a metaphor for death. What is most precious to us is a person whom we love dearly. Hence, we always try to take care of them. But sooner or later, every man must die, for man is a mortal creature. There is nothing we can do to stop this process, and hence it is something we must learn to deal with. Loss of a loved one can spell a period of intense grief and depression for some of us. However, just like the little boy is brought back to his senses by the sound of the whistle, we must overcome our grief and keep living. The poet’s message is that life goes on despite the death of our loved ones.

 

Thinking about the Poem

In pairs, attempt the following questions

1. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn't he offer him money to buy another ball?

Ans: The poet wants the boy to experience the loss. He should learn that it is the part of life. That’s why the poet doesn't want to interfere and wants the boy to be strong and handle the situation himself and doesn't want to offer him money to buy another ball.

 

2. “… staring down/All his young days into the harbor where/His ball went…”Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?

Ans: Yes, it seems like the boy has had the ball for a long time. When it bounced into the water, all his memories of the days of childhood flashed in front of him. This led to a realization that those moments would not come back, just like the ball. He can buy new balls and can create new similar moments, but those that are gone, would not ever return.

 

3. What does “in the world of possessions” mean?

Ans: "In the world of possessions’ means people like to possess all sorts of things in the world. Money is an external thing because it can buy only material objects; it cannot buy everything that one loses or cannot bring back your long lost memories.

 

4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.

Ans: No, it seems that the boy has not lost anything earlier. The words that suggest so are ,‘senses first responsibility in a world of possessions’.

 

5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to explain this in your own words.

Ans: The poet says that the boy is learning to cope up with the loss of the ball. He is experiencing grief and learning to grow up in this world of possessions. He learns that there are so many things in life that get lost and cannot be brought back. But it is useless to feel sorrow for them and makes no sense to stop your life from moving ahead for the sake of those memories that are now bygone.

 

Message

This poem is about losing something which we love and then learning to grow up. It is about a little boy, who in his young life, for the first time, is learning what it is like to experience grief after the loss of a much-beloved possession which is here his ball.

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