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Originally Posted by Bookpossum.
Victoria, I suppose Malamud is saying that "I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul". We can't always help what happens to us in terms of accidents (or homicidal maniacs shooting us) but we can help what we do with what has happened. Roy seems to have stayed that kid of 19-20 in terms of maturity and judgement. He hasn't grown and learned from his life in the intervening years.
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Bookpossum I agree that Malamud is talking about self-determination and the choices Roy & the others made.
But he painted such a vivid picture of life too. Bump’s behaviour was bullying and cruel, and yet none of the players stood up to him. Sam and Bump both died in violent freak accidents. The fans had no loyalty and were down right nasty. Max/Memo / Judge / Gus - were out for number one. Sam’s/Pop’s/Bump’s/Roy’s / dreams were futile, etc. And the story was littered with other tragedies, such as Roy’s parents, Harriet, etc
The feeling he conveyed was “everything is futile”; or life is meaningless. Which contradicts the message of being masters of our own fate. The ‘moral’ and the ‘feeling’ seem to diverge.