Malamud’s Incorporation of Actual Baseball Lore throughout The Novel Baseball is one of the oldest sports in the US. It dates back to Civil War times. Throughout baseball history, many events happen that later become very famous and known. The Natural by Bernard Malamud tells a story about a young striving baseball player, Roy Hobbs, that is trying to become a baseball hero. Malamud revealed after writing the novel that he had no interest …showed first 75 words of 686 total…

…showed last 75 words of 686 total…the fans think that “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is a traitor. Bernard Malamud shapes the novel to be more realistic by adding the historical events from real baseball. He shows that Roy’s baseball career becomes not only representative but also indicative of man’s mental and ethical situation. By drawing his material from actual baseball and blending it together with Arthurian legend, Malamud sets the novel in a area that is both real and mythical.