Swing

The friendship between the contrasting characters of Noah, Walt, and Sam is the key subject introduced as the novel opens. Noah admires Walt’s passion and dedication to baseball, but where Walt is unfailingly optimistic—perhaps naively so—Noah is a realist. Although both he and Walt have tried numerous times to make the baseball team, Noah is beginning to believe that they both should give up on this dream. In Noah’s estimation, it is wiser to accept the truth, difficult though it may be. Walt’s determination to meet his goal no matter the cost is juxtaposed with Noah’s attitude. Walt is determined to “find cool” during the academic year. This goal encompasses finally obtaining those things he has passionately pursued—namely, a spot on the baseball team and a date with a girl who excites him. Noah is much more content to remain out of the spotlight, lacking the confidence that Walt possesses. At the beginning of the novel, the two boys display different sides of the theme Perseverance in the Pursuit of Passions.

Despite their differences, Walt/Swing’s friendship plays an important role in Noah’s life, and he strives to support Walt/Swing despite what Noah considers to be Walt/Swing’s lack of talent where baseball is concerned. This loyalty is mutual, and it is especially evident when Walt/Swing encourages Noah to reveal his romantic feelings to their friend, Sam. This is key to the major theme of Friendship: Support, Encouragement, and Commitment. While Noah is discouraged, Walt/Swing repeatedly attempts to bolster Noah’s confidence. To this end, Walt/Swing encourages Noah to listen to the Woohoo Woman podcast, which he has found so inspiring. Just as Noah admires Walt/Swing, regarding him as filled with confidence and therefore with knowledge on how to reach one’s goals, Walt/Swing looks up to his cousin, Floyd. Floyd, although seemingly an ordinary teen who works at the local Dairy Queen, is a self-professed expert on women, and Walt/Swing considers his knowledge invaluable. Noah, on the other hand, is skeptical, finding Floyd’s manner of speaking cryptic and confusing.

Further, Floyd shares Walt/Swing’s love of jazz music (arguably an obsession in Walt/Swing’s case). Being distinctly American and yet unique in its use of improvisation, it is considered by Walt/Swing key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe, such as obtaining his goals and achieving “cool.” It is also an example of The Power of Art, Words, and Music. Walt/Swing tries to impress this upon Noah, but Noah finds jazz music difficult and unenjoyable. Noah cannot understand what it is about jazz that excites Walt/Swing so much; Walt/Swing, in turn, is determined to make Noah recognize jazz’s magic and power. In this way, the novel’s jazz motif is presented as a possible mode of experiencing and perceiving the world—aa mode that is adopted by one friend and rejected by the other.

Noah’s romantic interest in Sam serves as one of the novel’s central conflicts. The two are comfortable with one another due to being friends since elementary school. The recent development of Noah’s romantic feelings for Sam, however, has begun to torment him. His thoughts are consumed by Sam and by what he regards as her perfect qualities. This unrequited love eats away at him, and although Walt/Swing urges Noah to voice his feelings to Sam, Noah lacks the confidence to attempt to shift the relationship into the romantic sphere. Sam’s boyfriend Cruz serves as a foil for Noah. Unlike Noah, Cruz is a star on the baseball team. Cruz is confident and therefore deserving of Sam’s affections in Noah’s eyes. Noah is certain that he will never compare favorably to Cruz and therefore never be anything more than friends with Sam. When Sam asks Noah to help her shop for a prom dress, it implies that she does not consider Noah anything more than a friend—if, importantly, a close one.

The presence of the American flags throughout town will remain a significant source of tension throughout the novel. The flags—some small and less noticeable, others large and unmistakable—are mentioned by Noah sporadically , and the timing of these references is important to heightening the tone and pace of the narrative. Their significance is apparent from their first mention in the Prologue. That no one knows why they are being displayed around the town, nor who is responsible for displaying them, infuses them with significance. Indeed, that the novel is set during the United States’ war against Afghanistan is significant. Given that war’s unpopularity war among left-leaning Americans, it is possible that the flags are displayed as a protest against the war. Yet it is also possible that they are presented in support of the war, as many citizens, including Walt/Swing’s brother Moses, are actively involved in the war.