On the Devil's Court

Seattle is a famously rainy locale. Throughout On the Devil’s Court, Deuker uses the darkness and shadows to convey a sense of foreboding. The most obvious instance of this is in the Ballard gym on November 16 when Joe believes he is encountering the devil. The long, oddly shaped shadows of the unlit gymnasium imply to Joe that he is in a sort of an alternate reality, born out by the uncanny ability he suddenly has to make basket after basket, with the ball bouncing straight back to him. At the same time, an ethereal mist drifts through the gym. As the story progresses, there are moments, as when he meets with Coach Bonner from Eastern Washington and afterward finds himself alone in the shadows, that remind him of his encounter in the gymnasium.

Heavy rain, especially rain at night, is used to convey a sensation of being overwhelmed. Sometimes Joe finds this comforting, as at the end of Part 2 when he is trying to live down the furor he caused with the tabloid story. At other times, the stormy weather accompanies a challenge that Joe must face and overcome, as on the last game of the regular season, when his team must face their toughest league opponent during the middle of a terrible thunderstorm.