Have you ever been inspired by a beautiful piece of literature? Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Slam, Dunk, & Hook” changed people’s perspectives on the game of basketball forever. The work of literature was about all of the arts and finesse that occur in the game of basketball. Yusef Komunyakaa used several diverse poetic elements to express his love for the game of basketball in “Slam, Dunk, & Hook.” Komunyakaa gives off a joyful attitude through the feeling that you are out on that court with those basketball players when they make a shot. The poem “Slam, Dunk, & Hook,” has inspired me to take action in my town to raise awareness on the fact that we need more funding for sports. First of all, these are some benefits that come along with participating in a school sport or simply playing sports in your free time. Students who are active in sports, are more likely to have a positive body image and a satisfactory self-esteem. Another benefit is that physical activities are a marvelous way to relieve stress and reduce depression. “When Sonny Boy’s mama died he played nonstop all day, so hard our backboard splintered.” (Komunyakaa Line #24-26) That example from the poem “Slam, Dunk, & Hook” proved that when things don’t go your way in life, sports can be a great alternative. Truly, those were several benefits that …show more content…
Some people who are dedicated to sports, might even say that sports have pushed them beyond their limits. “Glistening with sweat, We rolled the ball off our fingertips.” (Komunyakaa Line #27-29) Now some people could possibly say that it is not good to be pushed to your limit, on the contrary it’s a necessity to know your personal limits. Once you have obtained knowledge on your limits, then you will know when you have progressed beyond those limits. Clearly, sports are the types of activities that will push us to our own intrapersonal
The author of “Slam, Dunk, & Hook”, Yusef komunyakaa, presents the reader both sides, in which basketball is involved in the life of the players which are in the court and how they outside the court. This poem exemplifies the vigor of the young athlete’s team in their zone of comfort. Creative imagery, hyperbole, and personification give the reader an idea of what these athletes do, in order to isolate themselves from reality. This reflect the player’s reaction toward basketball which we can infer are durable feeing by just comprehending the way he describes their feeling in the court. To begin with, “Slam, Dunk & Hook” is the bliss-out of the sport called basketball, presenting how dominion and beauty enthused each athlete.
Sports are a great way to bring a community together. However, sports have more to offer than just being a fun activity and a way to hang with friends. Lewis Lapham is correct in his assertion that sports represents more than trivial games between winners and losers; sports are deceptive and offer the illusion of hope, innocence, as well as lightness triumphing over darkness. H.G. Bissinger shows how these illusions affect a town’s reality in his book Friday Night Lights.
In this article,” In a Struggling City, Basketball Provides a Beacon of Hope” by Abby Gruen talks about how basketball is mush more than a game. Michael Coburn, the team captain of the Mount Vernon High School’s basketball team, explains how basketball has taught him to become a man. Mount Vernon has the second highest number of families in poverty. The town is made up 68,000 people and schools had to be shut down last year due to the amount of fights. Basketball has been the one thing the community has come together for.
According to " The Case Against High-School Sports" (2013), sports could create some study, health, and time management problems for schools and students. In this post, Amanda Ripley initially shows the benefits when involving in the high-school sports: exercise, sportsmanship lessons, some positive personalities, more fun and staying away from vices. She also writes some tales to inform readers that in the US, students are interested and enjoy in sports more than other peers in other countries. However, she claims that the high-school sports have negative effects on schools and students. Next, she gave some schools ' examples to show the problems when schools and students spent too much time and money in high-school sports.
The movie Hoop Dreams traced a poor young talented African American, named Arthur Agee from grade eight to college. Arthur hoped to play professional basketball in the future to help his family to escape poverty. Despite the fact that his family is poor, and the neighborhood he lived in, were disadvantaged to him to pursue his goal in many ways. Firstly, Arthur showed great determination to play professional basketball, and he would like to lead his family out of poverty. Secondly, his ability to adapt to difficult circumstances, played a significant role toward his success in basketball.
This notion is supported by Dr. Daniel Gould, who believes that “Children who participate in sports have increased educational aspirations, closer ties to school and increased occupational aspirations in youth” (1). People against the funding of high school sports think that parents and society are placing more emphasis than ever before and, “[P]ressures athletic personnel to deviate on winning from the athlete- centered educational and personal development mission” (Gould 1). However, athletes strive to do better in class. Michael Lorenc, a high school basketball coach believes that “those who seem to have an overwhelming schedule where they’re playing maybe multiple sports, and high academic schedules, they tend to do better than those who don’t do anything extracurricularly” (Gray). Balancing sports and school makes athletes put more effort into keeping up grades while playing the sport they love.
This means that the games for children need to focus more on their pleasure and enjoyment rather than on the competition. Competition only makes children bound to be winners. It also discourages sportsman spirit. Instead of being a source of healthy growth, these competitive sports have started becoming the source of depression for children when they don’t fulfil the expectations of their parents. These sports should enhance the sportsman spirit in children and must be beneficial for their mental and physical health.
The author of “slam, Dunk, & Hook”, Yusef komunyakaa, Show the reader both sides, in which basketball is involve in the life of the players. This poem, exemplifies the vigor of the young athlete’s team in their zone of conform. Creative imagery, Hyperbole, and personification give the reader an idea of what this athlete’s do, in order to isolate themselves from reality. Showing what basketball really mean to the players.
But in Reardan, my coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. They expected me to be good. And so I became good” (180). Basketball symbolized hope and development basketball is what helps the author express his message or helps him develop his message.
In the poem Fast Break by Edward Hirsch, he writes of an exciting basketball game. He has a way to make basketball sound fun and interesting to someone who doesn’t typically enjoy the sport. Hirsch creates imagery by using vivid language and similes. Hirsch paints the perfect picture of an action-packed basketball game with his vivid words.
Summary In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” Jessica Statsky tries to demonstrate the negative effect of organized sports on the physical and psychological health of growing child. She claims that the games are not festive but they end up in the wrong development of a child’s brain. The coaches and parents have high hopes for their children that result in the pressure building. This changes the purpose of sports from teaching tolerance, teamwork and sportsmanship to merely winning by all means.
In this paper, I will talk about why basketball is a good sport that is about hard work and determination, the value of teamwork, and physical health. However, people think basketball is not a good sport at all. Their reason for saying basketball is not a good sport would be. People get hurt all the time playing the game, it gets hectic playing the game of basketball, people fighting more than playing the game of basketball, and bad sportsmanship to players that have played
“In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year” claims Stanford Children’s Health. It’s definitely true that competitive sports can cause all sorts of injuries from big to small. The media teaches people simply that sports leads to horrific injuries and can cause stress, but what the mainstream media hardly discusses are the great benefits of competitive sports. While there may be some negatives to competitive sports, that’s just life, and to add on to that; there are plenty of benefits which are sure to override to media’s facts. Kids should play competitive sports because competitive sports teach children powerful life lessons, contributes to their social and mental stability, and because of the physical gain competitive sports provides.
You feel relaxed when you're with your friends, and when you're doing something that you enjoy doing. However, one side reasons why sports bring many together and connect is maybe they might want the same goal at the end to win a event or make a meaningful memory with others. By participating in a sport, or multiple sports, it can have a positive impact on one’s
The dynamics of a game of basketball very well correspond with the adversities I faced, hurdles I overcame and achievements I made in life. On my first experience as a professional player, with the entire stadium packed with players, coaches and basketball lovers I became extremely nervous and missed a couple of shots. The shots I missed cost my team dear and made me so apprehensive that I could not even attempt another basket. However nebulous it might seem but it was this and many such experiences that played a vital role in making me the individual that I am. Playing basketball for more than a decade, I have come to realise that sports offer a great metaphor for life.