Shooting Star

Toward the end of the novel, when the life and times of Manfred Armstrong Ozikean had been revealed, I discovered that he was a character I had already met once before. The story of Manny’s rise and fall reminded me of Johnny from the Bad Company song called “Shooting Star.” In the song, Johnny became famous for playing guitar, just like Manny for his hockey prowess. Johnny and Manny both turned to alcohol during their fame and ultimately, it was their demise. Both of them died in their beds with a bottle of whisky and drugs. Another important similarity between the two characters is what happened to them after their deaths. The line in the song, “All the world will love you just as long, as long as you are a shooting star,” shows that people will only love Johnny as long as he is at the top. The same was true for Manny and this could be seen when he was left out of the hockey hall of fame because of his alcoholism. The two characters are very similar and this similarity is what makes the song relate to the novel so well.