“This wasn’t the New York of the Germans or the Irish or the English, it was the New York of Americans.”

Felix feels like an outsider in New York once he recognizes the class divisions beyond Broadway. While he immigrated to America to make a better life for himself and his family, his realization introduces the Racial Discrimination and Its Systemic Effects that generations after him will experience.

“‘I am the fastest boy in Manhattan,’ Felix whispered. ‘I am the fastest boy in all of New York.’ He struck a match and readied himself like he was a runner on first base. ‘I am the fastest boy in America.’”

While these words show Felix’s pride, they also show the basis for his Bravery in the Face of Fear. His courageous character is illustrated as he assists firefighters attempt to quell fires raging in New York.

“I think maybe baseball is America. The spirit of it, at least. Something we brought with us from the Old World and made our own, the way we made this country.”

Through the firefighter’s opinion, a central thread tying the generations of the Schneider family is woven. The family consistently relates to each other through their baseball memorabilia, paralleling their sense of familial identity with baseball’s identity of becoming an American sport.