Despite this belief, he had attempted to correct his mistakes, proving himself to be a sincerely sympathetic hero. Although a little too late, at the end of the novel Hobbs proves himself to be a sympathetic character through his sincere demeanor. As he waits to bat in his final game, Hobbs acknowledges and reveals that saving this game is "the most important thing he's ever had to do in his life" (230). Hobbs, after all, is “completely human” and readers are reminded of this nature when “going down the stairs he fought his overwhelming self-hatred. In every stinking wave he remembered some disgusting event in his life” (xii,