1.Theme

It was about a black boy’s fight to become a real boxer, The Contender.

2. Main characters

1) Alfred Brooks: He was seventeen years old. He lived with his aunt, Aunt Pearl. It was because his father had died since he was a little boy. He was a black boy who had a strong will to become a real boxer, The Contender. He also loved James very much.

2) Aunt Pearl: She was Alfred’s aunt. She had become a mother to Alfred and she loved him very much. She had twin daughters and her husband had died. She was a sister of Alfred’s mother who had taken care of Alfred since his father died.

3) Mr. Donatelli: He was an old man. He had white crew cut hair and light blue eyes. He was the manager of the fighters and also the manager of Alfred. He had trained Alfred to become a boxer, The Contender. He also had a gym to train fighters.

4) James Mosely: He was Alfred’s best friend. He became part of a street gang. It was very easy to be influenced. He too had stolen money just to buy drugs.

5) Major: He was the leader of the street gang that Alfred and James belonged to. He always acted like he was trying to help Alfred and James, but it only made everything worse.

3 Summary of the story

There was a boy who lived in Harlem, New York, with his aunt. It was Alfred Brooks, his father had died. He did not go to school. He worked at the grocery store. He had a best friend whose name was James Mosely. They had become best friends since they were children. But after they got older, their friendship got worse. It was because James joined a street gang and started using drugs. And Alfred didn’t like it.

One day, James and the street gang tried to steal money from the store where Alfred worked. At first, Alfred was asked to join them, but he didn’t want to. He thought it was wrong and tried to stop James, but it didn’t work. James and the gang were stealing the money, but then the police came and arrested James. Alfred knew this and felt very sorry because he can’t stop it. Alfred regretted his best friend and wanted to become a fighter.

He went somewhere in Harlem and found the gym to become a wrestler, a boxer, the Donatelli Gym. He went there alone and he felt very nervous. He found Mr. Donatelli and told him that he wanted to be a boxer, a real boxer. He also said that he would do his best to become a real boxer, The Contender. He said that he would do a hard job. Mr. Donatelli accepted Alfred to become a boxer.

The next day, Alfred always came to the gym and was always trained by Henry, the gym worker. Mr. Donatelli became Alfred’s manager. Then after training, Alfred would have fights. In the first fight, he felt very nervous and couldn’t concentrate, but he knew he had to box. He won the first and the following fights.

In the end, Alfred fought Hubbard. It was Alfred’s last fight, because in the fight Alfred was lost. He didn’t regret it, because by the end of the fight he knew that he was not only a true boxer, he was the contender. He was a real contender. And the important thing was that he and James were best friends again.

4. Setting and environment

1) Time setting: Around the year 1960.

2) Location: Harlem and Manhattan (New York).

Atmosphere: The dominant emotion that pervades the story is hope and struggle and also friendship.

Copyright (c) Ahmad Alim Aziz