THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS

Forgiveness

The most important theme is that of forgiveness. Both Neely Crenshaw and the town of Messina must find a way to forgive so that the best in people can survive on into succeeding generation. Neely must find a way to forgive Coach Rake for slapping him at half-time of the '87 championship game. He also must find a way to forgive himself for..........

What Makes True Greatness?

Through the character of Eddie Rake, the reader learns the second theme - what makes true greatness? Rake had many failings, but he had so much..........

Life isn't Always Fair

A third theme, life isn't always fair, is especially taught through the character of Neely Crenshaw. He has spent most of the last 15 years embittered about..........

Misplaced Priorities

The last theme, misplaced priorities, concerns how the town of Messina and perhaps the school officials wanted a winning football team so badly...............

The complete study guide is currently available as a downloadable PDF, RTF, or MS Word DOC file from the PinkMonkey MonkeyNotes download store. The complete study guide contains summaries and notes for all of the chapters; detailed analysis of the themes, plot structure, and characters; important quotations and analysis; detailed analysis of symbolism, motifs, and imagery; a key facts summary; detailed analysis of the use of foreshadowing and irony; a multiple-choice quiz, and suggested book report ideas and essay topics.