John Grisham’s Bleachers captures the insight of American football in small town Messina. Every Friday night, Coach Eddie Rake and his Spartans storm the field preparing for battle. Anyone with a heartbeat attends the games. To the Spartans and their fans, the football field is a sanctuary and the bleachers are its pews. The Spartans are worshiped. They were given the special treatment and, “during the season, each football player could eat once per week at Renfrow’s at no charge” (Grisham 62). It is no surprise that the Spartans were good. Rake worked his players until they dropped. He was tough on them both verbally and physically, to the point where some of his players despised him. Now that he is on his death bed, will his players find the strength to forgive him? Forgiveness does not mean forgetting or excusing offenses. Instead, forgiveness brings one peace of mind and a feeling of relief. Bleachers displays forgiveness throughout the plot.
Neely Crenshaw, an All- American player, was loved …show more content…
In August of 1992, Rake’s team had a Sunday morning practice of all conditioning after a bad scrimmage the day before. Two miles was their “warm-up.” Then, the team ran bleachers, a workout dreaded by all Spartans. It was so dreaded that “when Rake yelled Bleachers, half the team wanted to quit” (Grisham 75). During the workout, sophomore Scotty Reardon collapsed on the bleachers “and never regained consciousness” (Grisham 76). Rake held him in his arms until he silently passed away. Scotty had died of heat stroke. Following Scotty’s death, Rake was a recluse. Rake had been fired and only showed up for the funeral. No one knew how Rake felt about the situation until Rake passed away. At Rake’s funeral, Rake had left a note for his daughter to read. In his note, he mentioned that one of his biggest regrets is the death of Scotty. Even though it was an event that can never be forgotten, he wanted
Neely Crenshaw, an All- American player, was loved …show more content…
In August of 1992, Rake’s team had a Sunday morning practice of all conditioning after a bad scrimmage the day before. Two miles was their “warm-up.” Then, the team ran bleachers, a workout dreaded by all Spartans. It was so dreaded that “when Rake yelled Bleachers, half the team wanted to quit” (Grisham 75). During the workout, sophomore Scotty Reardon collapsed on the bleachers “and never regained consciousness” (Grisham 76). Rake held him in his arms until he silently passed away. Scotty had died of heat stroke. Following Scotty’s death, Rake was a recluse. Rake had been fired and only showed up for the funeral. No one knew how Rake felt about the situation until Rake passed away. At Rake’s funeral, Rake had left a note for his daughter to read. In his note, he mentioned that one of his biggest regrets is the death of Scotty. Even though it was an event that can never be forgotten, he wanted