"Sometimes when I walk down the street I bet people will say there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in the game."
Roy wishes above all to be the best at baseball and to be recognized at being the best. From the beginning, Roy emerges as someone who is shallow, unable to realize that there is more to life than fame and money. Harriet tries to make him realize that but he is unable to do it. Because of this, he has to suffer the consequences of his own foolishness and excessive pride. Roy is "punished’’ in the end by losing everything he hoped to achieve.
If she would go out with him he would give her a good time at the night clubs and musical shows. But to do that and buy her some decent presents a guy needed cash, and on the meager three thousand he got he had beans—barely enough to pay his hotel bill.
Roy is blinded by his desire to have Memo, but his passion for her is childish. Memo does not love Roy and she seems to go after men who are rich and who can sustain the lifestyle she wants. Roy is unable to provide her will all the material things she wants because he is not paid enough. His desire to gain more money is fueled by the desire to have Memo and the realization that she will never agree to date him unless he is rich. This quote is important because it foreshadows the length to which Roy will go just to have enough money to please Memo.
"I mistrust a bad ball hitter. [. . .] They sometimes make some harmful mistakes."
Pop Fisher points out one of Roy’s main characteristic in the beginning of the novel. Roy thus becomes known for his tendency to hit bad balls, and this tendency makes Pop Fisher question Roy’s ability to make good decisions. As the reader is able to see later in the novel, Roy does not only take bad decisions on the field, but also his private life, going after the wrong girl and accepting a bribe from the Judge.
