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Chapter 63
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fever Pitch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Obsession vs. Fandom
Sports, Identity, and Community
Escapism
Sports and Masculinity
Summary
Analysis
Nick finally stops teaching to become a writer. He reads The Hustler and comes to identify with the character Fast Eddie. The book encourages Nick, who struggles to find success from his writing but continues trying. Nick’s friends and family tell him he's a good writer, and he believes he is, too. Later in life, Nick looks back and compares himself to the Arsenal player Gus Caesar. Caesar was told his entire life that he was a star football player, but he ended up a failure. Nick’s takeaway from Caesar’s career is that self-confidence and encouragement from others can be meaningless in the long run.
The fictional character Fast Eddie is a billiards player who only becomes successful after realizing that he carries a buried inner desire to lose. Nick doesn’t explain why he identifies with Fast Eddy, but there is a parallel in that Nick chooses to support football teams that lose more than they win. Nick then compares himself to Gus Caeser, whose career failed. This perhaps reflects his fears of failing in his writing career.
Themes
