The Contender
The protagonist, Alfred Brooks is hanging out with his best friend, James, and James's friends Major and Hollis. The three of them want to break into the Epsteins' grocery store where Alfred works. Although Alfred does not go with them, he forgets about the new alarm system that the Epsteins just installed. James gets caught by the police, and later that night, Major and Hollis beat Alfred up. A man from the neighborhood, Henry, takes Alfred home. Henry mentions that he has been working for Mr. Donatelli, who owns a gym where he trains some famous boxers. Alfred goes to check out the gym and tells Mr. Donatelli that he wants to be special-he wants to be a champion. Donatelli tells him that first, he has to be a contender-someone for whom it is in the realm of possibility to be a champion. The next night, Henry, Spoon, Jelly Belly, and Mr. Donatelli take Alfred to a boxing match at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Donatelli's most promising boxer, Willie Streeter, is competing in an important match. During the match, Streeter gets hurt, and Donatelli eventually concedes. Although Streeter is angry, Spoon says that Donatelli is the best manager around. Alfred begins training for boxing. He runs, eats, and sleeps
During his second fight, Alfred hits his opponent so hard that his opponent gets knocked unconscious. Alfred is sickened by the scene and is upset at the brutality of his own actions. Mr. Epstein, proud and impressed, pays for Alfred's lessons. Spoon tells Alfred that he should consider going to night school, and Alfred later reveals that he is planning on getting his high school diploma. Alfred goes to Coney Island with Major the next day, narrowly missing a run-in with the police for Major's possession of a stolen car. The next few days Alfred is in a stupor and eventually goes back to the gym to get his clothes and equipment. While there, he asks Mr. Donatelli if he could have been a contender. Mr. Donatelli answers that he does not know and that he never knows the answer to that question until he sees how a boxer reacts to getting hurt. Needing to know the answer to that question himself, Alfred begins training again.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1522
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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