Heart of a Champion

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1994

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Literary Devices

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is using the narrative to alert the reader, heightening anticipation that something significant is about to occur in the story. Deuker uses foreshadowing in varied and subtle ways. For example, in Part 2, Chapter 18, when Seth notes with some degree of surprise that his drinking escapades with Todd and Jimmy were never discovered, this alerts readers to the possibility that the drinking is going to come to light, which is does.

Deuker also uses what might be called “reverse foreshadowing,” in which a character broadly predicts something positive and the reader immediately senses that the reverse will occur. One example of this can be found in Part 4, Chapter 10, when Seth predicts the team will win the league championship and perhaps the state tournament, leaving the reader with a feeling something is about to derail the team—it turns out to be Jimmy’s death.

The Synoptic Story

Heart of a Champion covers a lot of chronological ground. This makes it a synoptic story, which is a tale covering the full extent of something, in this case, the friendship between Seth and Jimmy. In order to accomplish this, the novel starts as if writing a mid-grade book—a very young Seth nearly starts crying when Mr. Winter tells him to shut up—and progresses to a young adult book with some very mature themes. To narratively make sense of this large scope, Deuker uses the conceit of a 17-year-old writing a journal about his deceased best friend.

Selective Description

Rather than providing exhaustively descriptive characterizations, Deuker only highlights certain aspects of character appearance. The reader learns about Coach Sharront’s build, Seth’s mother’s attractiveness, Elizabeth Strong’s stateliness, and Tom Wells’s hair. Importantly, Deuker does not describe his main characters at all. This descriptive absence is intentional: Deuker wants the reader to fill in the blanks, typically by imagining themselves in the place of his teen protagonists.

Deuker also omits adult names: Seth’s parents, Jimmy’s mom, and Todd’s dad are known only by their relationships to their children. This also helps characterization. For instance, Seth only sees his mother as “Mom,” until he is mature enough to realize that she is a person in her own right outside this role.