Magical Realism

This story has little in common with those works of twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction which tend to emphasize realism, moral ambiguity, doubt, and cynicism. But it has strong elements of the genre known as magical realism, in which magical or supernatural elements (such as Roger’s divinely assisted feats in baseball) appear in an otherwise realistic setting and in which all elements are treated as real.

Symbolism

Symbolism occurs in literature when something is used to represent something else, often when a material object represents both itself and something immaterial. Throughout “Perfection,” Roger is surrounded by images of light and elevation, which symbolize his spiritual illumination and exaltation. With regard to light, a student tells the Saromsker Rebbe of Roger, “When he prays, white light bathes the walls.” When Roger, with the help of an angel, hits balls out of the Yankee...