Men & Masculinity Quotes in The Art of Fielding

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"[Mike] loves Henry. They talk on the phone all day long, like lovebirds." (2.35)

Henry's family has no problem with him talking to Mike "like lovebirds," but they take issue when Henry ends up with Owen, who is gay, as a roommate. Why is this?

Quote #2

[Henry] knew what was happening in there, however vaguely. It sounded painful, at least for one of the parties involved. (4.1)

This paragraph introduces the first of many scenes that plays up the homoeroticism of a sports locker room. The characters Henry is eavesdropping on are lifting weights, but with lines like "Yeah, baby. Just like that" and "You're big," you'd think they were doing something else.

Quote #3

"Remember when it was easy to be a man? Now we're all supposed to look like Captain Abercrombie here. Six-pack abs, three percent body fat. All that crap." (4.32)

Mike's strange complaint here makes it seem like it's hard for him to be a man these days. Is there anything that suggests Mike has a difficult time at life because he's male?