What would you expect to be the mindset of a misfit kid who isn't all that popular who plays baseball with the other kids because he wants to fit in with them instead of being himself? There is such a boy in a first-person story written by a world-famous author. In "Eye Ball", Spiegelman uses characterization to develop the theme of being yourself and not trying to fit in with others at the expense of showing your true self. Spiegelman's use of the misfit kid as a round character reflects the theme because he realizes that he doesn't fit in very well with all the other kids. As a child suffering from amblyopia, or “lazy eye”, he already knew he was at a disadvantage and emphasizes his condition when he says “since I am practically blind in my left eye” and when he says “Amblyopia, an lazy” made my whole world 2D” (130). He still tries to play baseball with the other kids, but soon discovers that he's not that good at it. Identification can be made with the out-of-place feeling that most kids have experienced. Now he most likely feels down because he did badly when he was batting. Most out-of-place people “must take refuge in fantasy and/or develop a rarefied sense of humor to survive” (130). The usual “boy in 1950s America, baseball was not optional and being inept ensured him a place in the social hierarchy even lower than that of a girl” (130). This shows that there was a current stereotype of what kids should be like and he was trying to be stereotyped with all the other kids. Spiegelman's use of the misfit boy as a dynamic character reflects the theme as he learns to be himself and not try to be something he is not. He realizes he was out of place when the boys placed him and he “was inevitably relegated to right field, away from danger” (130). While in the outfield he thought that boredom had eliminated his “anxiety that a ball might come” (130). He knew before he went with the boys that playing baseball with them wouldn't go smoothly, so he "often kept a few comic books handy" (130). As he reflects, he finally realizes that his true solace is in comics and not sports.