If You Build It, He Will Come

By Aishleen Radetich

[1] The last scene in the movie Field of Dreams instigates a deep emotion for the game of baseball and the strong bond that is often formed between a father and a son. It wraps up the meaning of the voices that Ray Kinsella has been hearing, and his lost relationship with his father, John Kinsella, is rekindled in this scene. Just before this scene, Ray is upset that he will never be able to go into the cornfield with the members of the baseball team but becomes convinced it is for the better that he stays on the outskirts to care for his house and family. This scene then goes to an image of Ray, his wife, Annie, and their daughter, Karen, getting ready to walk away from the baseball field he has created toward their house because all of the men except for Shoeless Joe have retreated back into the cornfields. His wife turns around and says “Bye” to Shoeless Joe, but he remains there grinning at the two. Ray becomes confused as to what he is standing there for and asks him what he is grinning at. Shoeless Joe responds with: “If you build it, he will come,” and he directs his eyes toward something on the side of the screen before walking away.

[2] Ray looks at what Shoeless Joe directed his eyes towards and sees a player dressed in a New York Yankees uniform gathering what was left of his equipment. Ray looks intently into the distance at the young man and recognizes him as being his own father. The audience is able to see the shock and awe that Ray expresses when first seeing the image, and we see him recognize the meaning of the voices that he has been hearing as directed toward his father. He states, “It’s my father. Ease his pain,” while Annie is heard stating back, “Go the distance.” The way in which Ray is shown to be staring so intently at the younger version of his father is a powerful image that one would expect upon seeing one’s dead parent in a young ghost form. Shoeless Joe is also at this time shown walking into the vast cornfield, a place that remains a mystery to both Ray and the audience throughout the entirety of the movie. This is very representative of how one from the present is unable to go into the lives of those in the past, but those in the past are able to help and guide those that are living.

[3] The younger version of Ray’s father stares back at Ray upon recognizing him watching him. He begins to walk over to Ray and his family, and Ray is heard stating how he had only seen his father when “he was worn down by life” and that “he’s got his whole life before him, and I’m not even a glint in his eye.” While his father gets closer to him, Ray becomes anxious as to what to say to him, as anyone would be if this were to happen. His wife suggests introducing him to his granddaughter first. His father comes over to them and thanks him for putting up the field and letting the men play there and introduces himself as John Kinsella while shaking Ray’s hand. Ray introduces them to Annie and Karen but holds himself back from calling John his father just yet. One can feel the awkward feelings that Ray is having at this time in the scene, wondering what the appropriate way to act should be in this close proximity to his dead father. Annie volunteers for her to take Karen inside in order to give the two men a chance to talk and give Ray the chance to build on a relationship with his dad.

[4] The camera rolls over the darkening sky and concentrates on the father and son walking the baseball field, in a seemingly awkward conversation at first. John points out that where they are is a beautiful place and tells Ray that, for him, this experience has been “like a dream come true.” Ray looks longingly into his father’s face, and his father goes on to ask him if where he is right now is Heaven. Ray smiles and simply responds: “It’s Iowa.” They stare into each other’s eyes, and John walks away saying how he had thought that it was Heaven. This question gets Ray thinking about things, and he follows his father to question whether there is an actual Heaven. John tells him that Heaven is the place where dreams come true, which prompts Ray to look around at all that is surrounding him at the time. He looks at his farmhouse with his wife and daughter sitting on a porch swing and gazes out into the baseball field he has been able to create for the enjoyment of others. Realizing that what he has created with the baseball field has been a dream for him, and knowing the love he has gained from his wife and daughter, he happily states that this has been a dream for him, and, yes, maybe it is Heaven.

[5] Upon hearing this, John and Ray say a simple but sentimental goodnight to each other and engage in a lengthy, heartfelt handshake as night is closing in on them. As John is walking away, Ray knows he has to do something before letting him get away. He calls after him, saying, “Hey, Dad?” and with tears in his eyes goes on to ask him to have a simple catch with him. This simple question really accentuates the way in which a simple game of baseball can bring together the relationship that a father and son have. His dad gladly agrees, and the sentiment of the bond that they are hoping to gain from this experience is strongly felt. Ray turns around to pick up a glove from off the ground, along with a ball, and simply throws the ball into his father’s mitt. Through this image, the bond of the two men has become strengthened, showing the way in which things in the past can have an effect on the present. The reappearance of his father, and the way in which Ray acted upon his dreams, brings about the reality of true happiness, and the idea of re-kindling lost relationships.

[6] The scene comes to a close when Annie is shown smiling from the porch at the image of her husband bonding again with his dead father. The idea of her husband pursuing the building of the baseball field, despite the conflicts and setbacks that occurred, and also seeing the positive results it had on so many relationships must have been an extremely powerful feeling for Annie. Before heading inside, she flicks on the stadium lights on the field, lighting up the image of the father and son. The camera slowly zooms out from the image of Ray and John, and the lit-up stadium becomes the brightest image in the wide-angle view of Iowa that is last seen, reminiscent of the possibilities that can occur when one strongly pursues a dream.

[7] This ending scene really shows the way in which one man working toward something can have everlasting effects on the rest of his life. The role of baseball in his life brought about the re-development of so many lost relationships of the past and allowed for him to recognize what was important in his life. Through the baseball players, Ray is shown the way in which pure love for the game will bring people together and allow relationships to develop. Further, and more importantly, the vision of his father helped him to come to terms with his past and show him how a simple baseball catch can bring together that which he thought was so lost in his past.