Foul Trouble

The characters of Foul Trouble face temptation from various sources, and it is up to each individual to decide whether giving in to the temptation is worthwhile. As the top high school basketball player in the country, Terrell faces multiple temptations in the form of money, benefits, and fame, and his struggle with these deceptively wondrous opportunities is one of the key conflicts of the novel. For most of the book, Terrell finds that avoiding the temptation brings positive results (letting him improve his game) while giving in produces more negative consequences (being benched because he’s too high to play). In the final part of the novel, however, Terrell faces temptations that offer him things that would benefit his mom as well as himself, such as a house and injury insurance. Terrell knows that these offers are only available because of his basketball skills, and the idea of becoming unable to play makes the temptation loom because the deal would have significant benefits for his mother as well. In Chapter 28, when the college offers intensify, Terrell is overwhelmed by the possibilities and wonders if “getting paid to do something you love isn’t necessarily a bad thing” (319).