The Last Shot: Chapter 4.
1.) In Chapter 4 of the Last Shot, a song that can relate to this chapter is Kick, Push by Lupe Fiasco. Lupe Fiasco raps in this song about a skater who finds self expression through skate boarding and the obstacles the skater overcomes to find a spot to skate. In this chapter, we find out that basketball is a way for Corey to get out of Coney Island and become a writer. He aspires to become a writer and realizes he needs to get into college so he must overcome the fact that he needs to get a scholarship to get into college
2.) In Chapter 4 of the Last Shot, the narrator describes not only Corey’s talents in Basketball but the struggles Corey goes through and his aspirations of being a writer. The plot of Chapter 4 starts off with Corey in the study hall standing out from the rest of his teammates. As they cause havoc and chaos, Corey is calm and collected and writes poetry. He then explains that he only plays basketball to take up time. The chapter then establishes Corey as a trendsetter and not a follower. We later find out more about Corey’s traits as he is humorous as well as calm and collected and popular. His popularity allows a private Basketball camp to make money off of him. We also find that Corey is not greedy at all and more philosophical than other “star” basketball players as he chooses to pass more than shoot. Corey also has an older brother, named Willie, who encourages Corey to get into college to make a better future for himself. Willie believes he can achieve this by playing basketball for university scouts.
3.) The main theme of this chapter is the theme of following your dreams and the obstacles that often get in between that. This theme is developed through the explanation of Corey’s traits and experiences. We see Corey’s aspirations of being a writer, and we see that he can only achieve this goal by going into college. The obstacle he has is that he doesn’t do well in school so he must play basketball to get a scholarship. However, instead of being greedy and selfish, Corey tends to pass the ball instead of shoot for himself, which makes it difficult to scouts to judge his talents as a basketball player
4.) The quote “You want to be a writer? That’s cool. But how yo gonna do that if you don’t go to college?” Willie Frowns “And how you gonna go to college if the coaches never see what you can do with a basketball?” is significant because it basically summarizes the problems Corey is facing and what he has to do in order to succeed. The quote “Relax, guys, he said nonchalance itself, “It’s just basketball” is an example of Corey’s level-headed ness and well composed personality. “ The quote “Cause there’s just no limit to what you can do. Everything goes” Corey says about basketball is important because it reveals that basketball is another way of self-expression for Corey. The quote “Corey often baffles his friends by ignoring wide-open shots If he sees an exotic pass to be made” shows that Corey is not selfish and is another quote that provides more evidence of Corey’s personality . The quote “I just play ball to take up time” also demonstrates that even though Corey is amazing at basketball, his heart lies somewhere else.
5.) The literary elements used in chapter 4 help establish the mood and tone of the novel. Imagery is often used in the chapter to display a certain trait or moment for example, throughout the chapter, the narrator describes what he sees and feels about Corey’s basketball play. Irony is also used when Willie, Corey’s brother, tells the narrator that Corey actually does care about getting into College and is acting cool to appear that he is not. Expositions is also used to introduce Corey’s brother, Willie. Flashbacks are used in Last Shot to establish Corey’s personality in past events.
6.) Corey: Corey can be best described as even tempered, creative, talented, selfless, and mellow. Often in the chapter, Corey is even tempered as even though his coaches are yelling at him for missing a layup he’s just calm for missing the layup. Corey is mellow because after an intense day of basketball he just relaxes to some Dj JazzyJeff and Fresh Prince at the end of day, unlike Russell who is tensed laying in his bunk. Corey is selfless for even passing the ball even though he is a star player. Corey is talented because he can write poetry and play basketball well. Corey is also creative and demonstrates from his one-liner raps to Tchaka and his writing.
Willie: Willie can be described as smart, caring, stern, quiet and humble. Willie is smart because he scored high SAT marks and has a well established barbershop. He is caring because he looks after his younger brother Corey and his future. He is stern because the narrator often describes how serious Willie is. He is also quiet because of how the narrator describes him. He is also humble for not running his mouth about how successful he was, even though he didn’t attend college, and he also realizes how lucky he is for being successful.