Swing

Content Warning: This section references violence, death, and police brutality, as well as various forms of systemic racism.

As the novel opens, Noah explains that he and Walt/Swing have repeatedly failed to make the high school baseball team. Noah has come to believe that this is not meant to happen—that it is not part of the universe’s plan. Walt/Swing, however, is unwilling to give up on this dream; his love of baseball cannot be quenched, and he is determined to achieve his goal. Walt/Swing is certain that the solution is to practice his swing and his hitting in the batting cage. He does so religiously, certain that working hard will generate the skills he needs to make the team. He is enthusiastic and adamant that his perseverance will ultimately pay off. Noah is skeptical, finding Walt/Swing’s behavior idealistic and short-sighted, but he supports his friend in his efforts. That Walt/Swing eventually receives an opportunity to play on the baseball team is proof that his perseverance wasn’t misplaced. Though his performance during the games is less than stellar, Walt/Swing is satisfied because he has accomplished his goal.

Walt/Swing’s perseverance spills over into his relationships with others.  Passionate about jazz, he is not content to enjoy jazz music on his own but tries to encourage his friend to love it too. Noah, having no knowledge of jazz, finds the musical style off-putting. Yet Walt/Swing perseveres. He repeatedly exposes Noah to the music while informing him of various jazz musicians (as well as the circumstances of their deaths). For Walt/Swing, jazz is inspirational; it provides the motivation he needs to strive towards his goals, and he seems to want to share this resource with his friend. Walt/Swing’s love and knowledge of jazz also proves instrumental to another of his goals: finding love. As Divya shares this interest, the two bond in no small part over this common love.  

As his desire to share jazz—his own source of inspiration—suggests, Walt/Swing is insistent on helping Noah pursue his own passions. Aware that Noah’s romantic interest in Sam is genuine, he urges Noah to share his feelings with Sam. Noah is reluctant and afraid but also unsure how to go about effectively conveying those feelings. Notably, it is through developing an appreciation for jazz (and through the inspiration of the love letters from Corinthian) that Noah is able to express himself effectively. Walt/Swing therefore plays a double role in encouraging Noah, as without Walt/Swing taking it upon himself to give the letter Noah wrote to Sam, Noah’s true feelings for her might have remained a secret. In short, Walt/Swing demonstrates to Noah that achieving one’s goals requires courageous action and perseverance.

Nevertheless, the novel suggests there are limits to what perseverance can achieve. The fact that Walt/Swing is Black places his desire to play baseball within a particular historical context of segregation and exclusion; famously, the MBA refused to draft Black players from the early- to mid-20th century. Though Walt/Swing does not face this kind of overt racism, institutional and implicit racism are ever present in the novel’s background and ultimately result in Walt/Swing’s death. The novel therefore implies that Black Americans still do not have the freedom to dream as expansively as white Americans.