''Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out''

The subject of Barry’s essay, “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” is his humorous take on the differences between the sexes and the value each places on cleanliness.  His references to “Standard Male Cleaning Implements”, essentially Windex with a wad of paper towels, make it clear that Barry believe the issue of cleanliness is of utmost importance in relationships.

            “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” was written during the last twenty years with its references to a male friend offering to change his baby’s diaper in an effort to avoid a discussion on relationships.  The esssay’s date of creation is conveyed with references to Barry’s female friend, Maddy.  It is doubtful that a man would refer to a female as friend any earlier than the middle of the 1970’s.  By providing contemporary examples to which they can relate, Barry is able to effectively get his readers to invest in his argument.

            The specific audience for Barry’s essay is young to middle-aged couples with children.  From watching adult couples, I know that every couple has flash points that lead to heated discussion even on such mundane topics as the cleanliness of a bathroom.  Barry references the “look that [his wife] has perfected” when she wants to convey that he is an idiot.  The general audience for Barry’s essay is men and women who interact on a regular basis, regardless of whether it is at school or work.  Barry’s reference in his essay to the importance that the men place on the World Series game is one to which almost all men can relate.

Barry’s purpose in writing this essay to demonstrate the men and women view life through very different lenses.  However, Barry is careful not to take a position on which view is the correct one.  What a man considers appropriate dress for his school age son, a pair of pajamas, does not pass muster when his mother catches him before he goes out the door.  Barry is self-deprecating when he states that the time he spends cleaning his son’s bathroom would be put to better use in constructing a drawing on his Etch-A-Sketch.  Barry knows by mocking his wife’s unattainable standard of cleanliness, he would be wise to offset such sarcasm by using the example of a mindless activity like the Etch-A-Sketch as his alternative.

            Women take life much more seriously than men if you are to believe Barry’s essay.  They are able to spot “molecules” of dirt, while men seemingly do not notice dirt until they are literally covered in it.  The Pompeii example used by Barry is extreme, but gets his point across that men are largely obvious to dirt.  The sexes should be allowed to pursue their separate interests and agendas unimpeded by the value placed on them by the opposite sex.  In the end, the men are thrilled to watch a World Series game, while the women are left to discuss relationships.  Forcing your spouse to do what makes you happy leads to misery on both sides.

           

            Barry demonstrates a self-effacing and slightly sarcastic attitude about the importance women place on cleanliness in the home.  His self-effacing statement that “men tend to do extremely little in the way of useful housework” is supported by his half-hearted attempt to clean his son’s bathroom at his wife’s request.  His sarcasm is evident where he references the “escape” of “second male” from the attempts of the women to direct the group discussion to one about relationships.