The Million Dollar Shot

Gutman slows down the pace of the story in these final chapters to convey the fact that the anticipation of a certain event changes one’s perception of time and makes everything seem to happen in slow motion. For this reason, the day of the NBA game is one of the longer chapters in the book, and Eddie experiences a roller-coaster ride of different emotions. Initially, he is calm because he is able to practice in a quiet place without distractions, but when he sees his mom kissing Annie’s dad, he can no longer push aside his mental distractions, and his resulting outburst indicates the dual importance of The Link Between Mindset and Outcome and The Stress of Navigating Change. Seeing the kiss makes this monumental life change real, and combined with Eddie’s ongoing ruminations about his father, this revelation wounds Eddie emotionally. He feels betrayed by his mom and by Annie’s dad, and those feelings cause him to start missing practice shots. The scene therefore emphasizes the power that strong emotions have over Eddie’s ability to focus. However, the pep-talk that Annie’s dad gives Eddie helps him calm down because Annie’s dad treats him like an equal. This moment of connection makes Eddie realize that he can cope with the relationship between his mom and Annie’s dad. In addition, Eddie realizes that he can push aside this distraction and focus only on the contest shot, emphasizing The Power of Confidence in his own abilities.

The second portion of Chapter 14 shows the final confrontation between Eddie and Mr. Finkle and once again demonstrates The Link Between Mindset and Outcome. From the moment Mr. Finkle pulls Eddie away from the basketball players, Mr. Finkle intensifies his tricks and mind games in an attempt to sabotage Eddie. For example, the rowdiness of the press and the obligation of meeting the Finkle family are both carefully constructed events that are designed to make Eddie feel uncomfortable. Mr. Finkle also exploits Eddie’s lower-income background by taking him to a private viewing box and enticing him with fancy food, such as shrimp. Mr. Finkle uses his relative wealth and influence to intimidate Eddie and also to lure him into a false sense of security, and this ploy is partially successful, for Eddie’s enjoyment of the shrimp and the private box shows that he is distracted and therefore off-balance. The anxiety that Eddie feels on the court is a combination of the distractions around him and a culmination of his recent experiences. However, Mr. Finkle’s true villainy is revealed when the audience members hold up signs painted to look like the basketball hoop, for this moment proves that Mr. Finkle is willing to cross any ethical line to ensure Eddie’s failure. In this context, Eddie’s success is a triumph over his own anxieties and over Mr. Finkle’s underhanded actions.

Gutman uses Chapters 15 and 16 to give the story a cinematic element by breaking the fourth wall and directly acknowledging the presence of the reader. Both chapters take place during a matter of seconds, but they both deliver a feeling that time is now moving in slow motion, and this deliberate effect increases the suspense of the book and mirrors the filming style of many different sports movies’ climactic moments. As Eddie makes the shot, the narrative is crafted to emphasize the importance of these few seconds, which seem to take much longer. As everyone watches the ball hit the backboard and circle the rim, the author’s acute attention to every detail drags out the moment. Everything that Eddie has done since he first won the poetry contest has brought him to this moment, which is why Gutman draws it out and shows how important it is. In Chapter 16, Gutman uses Eddie’s perspective to insert a quick metafictional commentary on storytelling and endings. This chapter serves only to continue drawing out the sense of time, prolonging the resolution even further. Thus, when Gutman begins the final chapter with the ball going into the hoop, this moment releases the tension and shifts the tone into an emphatically celebratory tone. In this crucial moment, the lives of both Eddie and Mr. Finkle have completely changed. Eddie is now faced with wild opportunities, while Mr. Finkle has lost everything. The novel’s conclusion therefore shows the consequences of cheating Eddie and mistreating his employees.

After the climactic moment, the author calms the narrative tone by replacing the chaos of the stadium with the serenity of the view from the top of the Empire State Building, which symbolizes the wide vista of opportunities now open to Eddie and his family and friends. This sense of a grand vision is further enhanced when Annie and Eddie decide to buy out Finkle Foods and deliver an ironic form of justice. Due to their hard work and judicious choice, Mr. Finkle loses his company to the very person he has tried so hard to sabotage. The end of Chapter 17 shows both families joining into a single unit united by both affection and a common vision for the future. Significantly, the branding shift from junk food to health food renders their endeavor a direct contrast to that of the Finkle family’s previous unscrupulous enterprise, and Eddie’s decision to hire back the people Mr. Finkle fired shows that Eddie conducts himself with far more integrity and positivity than Mr. Finkle ever did.