FIELD OF DREAMS

PLOT


Ray Kinsella is walking through his field when he hears a voice saying "if you build it, he will come."  Ray tells his wife Annie of the occurrence.  Together they decide that the field should be built.  Ray goes on a mission to find the "he" the voice is referring to. Annie is left at home to take care of the farm as her husband goes in search of whatever the voice tells him.  She is forced with a decision to sell the farm due to financial difficulty. Upon his return, they decide to keep the farm.  All along, the "he" are the baseball players, specifically, Ray's dad.  


P.O.V.


The movie is set in a first person narrative.  Ray Kinsella is telling his story in a present time.  He explains his feelings and what he hears to his wife.  Ray is the narrator and throughout the movie, gives monologues explaining the situations he has been put in.  He constantly gives the audience an update as to what he is going through as well as what Annie is encountering at home.  The movie is primarily dialogue between the characters.  Therefore, there is no situational irony.


CHARACTERIZATION


Ray is a determined man.  He is beginning a farm.  He is not experienced in this type of work but is willing to try it out.  When the voices start talking to him about building "it" he listens and starts researching and brainstorming as to what the voice is talking about.  He starts work on the field with support from his wife.


Annie, Ray's wife, is a supporting and loving woman.  She backs Ray up in his decision to take out a portion of their farm land in order to build a baseball field.  When presented with a decision to sell the farm, she refuses because she is so supportive of her husband.


SETTING


Field Of Dreams is set in Iowa.  Ray and Annie Kinsella start work on their very own, and first farm.  The newbie farmers are not sure of what the farming industry entails.  After the field takes out a large portion of their crop land, they are presented with financial difficulty.  Throughout the movie, Ray is en-route to finding men to play on his field, mainly in search of retired major leaguers.  As he is on the road, Annie stays put on the farm in Iowa with their daughter, Karin.  The ghostly baseball players play games on the field the Kinsella's built into their farmland.


THEME


The theme of the story is dedication.  Ray is in search of players for his baseball field.  Even when he is denied, and cannot find the players, he does not give up.  He keeps a lookout for potential players.  When his crop cannot support the family anymore, he keeps on with the field and refuses to sell the farm.  Ray's determination pays off in the end when he is able to play catch with his father, whom he stopped communication with at 17.  The refusal to give up, ended happily for Ray Kinsella.