The Natural

by

Bernard Malamud

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Natural makes teaching easy.

Bump Baily Character Analysis

Bump is the Knights’ star player before Hobbs arrives. He is as arrogant as the Whammer and is known for his rude antics off the field with Memo, his girlfriend, Pop, and the other players. Bump instantly becomes competitive with Hobbs, whom he views as a threat, and he begins to play more ferociously in an attempt to outdo Hobbs. However, Bump dies after injuring himself by running into the outfield wall while attempting to catch a pitch during a game (in an effort to outdo Hobbs), and Hobbs takes over his celebrity position on the team. Like the Whammer—and Hobbs at the end of novel—Bump is an example of a failed player, driven to defeat by his own out-of-control ambition.

Bump Baily Quotes in The Natural

The The Natural quotes below are all either spoken by Bump Baily or refer to Bump Baily. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ambition, Failure, and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Batter Up! Part 2 Quotes

As Bump ran for it he could feel fear leaking through his stomach, and his legs unwillingly slowed down, but then he had this vision of himself as the league’s best outfielder, acknowledged so by fans and players alike [..] Thinking this way he ran harder […] and with a magnificent twisting jump, he trapped the ball in his iron fingers. Yet the wall continued to advance, and […] Bump bumped it with a skull-breaking bang.

Related Characters: Bump Baily
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 3 Quotes

When Bump died Memo went wild with grief. Bump, Bump, she wailed, pounding on the wall […] In her mind she planted kisses all over the corpse and when she kissed his mouthless mouth blew back the breath of life, her womb stirring at the image of his restoration. Yet she saw down a dark corridor that he was laid out dead, gripping in his fingers the glowing ball he had caught.

Related Characters: Memo Paris, Bump Baily
Page Number: 80
Explanation and Analysis:
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Bump Baily Quotes in The Natural

The The Natural quotes below are all either spoken by Bump Baily or refer to Bump Baily. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Ambition, Failure, and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Batter Up! Part 2 Quotes

As Bump ran for it he could feel fear leaking through his stomach, and his legs unwillingly slowed down, but then he had this vision of himself as the league’s best outfielder, acknowledged so by fans and players alike [..] Thinking this way he ran harder […] and with a magnificent twisting jump, he trapped the ball in his iron fingers. Yet the wall continued to advance, and […] Bump bumped it with a skull-breaking bang.

Related Characters: Bump Baily
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 3 Quotes

When Bump died Memo went wild with grief. Bump, Bump, she wailed, pounding on the wall […] In her mind she planted kisses all over the corpse and when she kissed his mouthless mouth blew back the breath of life, her womb stirring at the image of his restoration. Yet she saw down a dark corridor that he was laid out dead, gripping in his fingers the glowing ball he had caught.

Related Characters: Memo Paris, Bump Baily
Page Number: 80
Explanation and Analysis: