He will sweat and bleed to get as high as his talent, courage, and character will take him. After meeting and talking to donatelli himself, a trainer of champions, alfred gets told he must be a contender before a champion. So alfred begins going to donatelli s gym, a boxing club in harlem that has trained champions. Choose from 500 different sets of the contender flashcards on quizlet.
Alfreds journey throughout the book is much like those stairsdifficult to climb, easy to fall down, and sometimes seeming like the top is too far away. Alfred decided to see what he could do to become a boxer. He decides to join a donatelli s gym, a local gym that trains boxers. Hes a highschool dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. He runs in the morning, eats a select diet, and after work, he goes to the gym to work out. There he learns its the effort, not the win, that makes the man, that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you. Donatelli is a white and experienced trainer in boxing. Jan 26, 2010 so alfred begins going to donatelli s gym, a boxing club in harlem that has trained champions. The contender the contender by robert lipsyte is an exciting novel with each chapter having something new to learn about the book. His best friend struggling with drug addiction and his job isnt a career path. The contender by robert lipsytethemestheme analysis. By meeting many people along in the gym, and support from his whole family, alfred learns what the word contender relly means, inside and outside of the boxing world. Donatelli is a hard taskmaster and strict disciplinarian, but alfred follows his regimen and becomes fit and selfconfident.
The whole book is well written with lots of elaboration. Donatelli also tells him that he must train hard every day at his gym, get a nutritious selection of food every day, and to get a good amount of sleep. Now alfred feels not just powerless, but afraid and he wants to be able to walk down the street like a man. The contender has appeared on school reading and library lists ever since it was first published. Despite the apparent disorder, the gym runs by a strict system of honesty and effort. The book s plot centers on a black seventeenyearold man named alfred brooks, a high school dropout living with aunt pearl and her three daughters in harlem, new york city. The contender king county library system overdrive. At first, alfred doesnt know what thats supposed to mean. The main character, alfred brooks, is a high school dropout that wasnts to learn how to box. The protagonist of the novel is a black seventeenyearold man named alfred brooks, a high school dropout living with aunt pearl and her 3. In the beginning of the book alfred was already a drop out of high school and working for jewish people at a grocery store. Donatelli does the same for spoon and has a sense about what someone needs in order to feel special.
Learn the contender with free interactive flashcards. The breakthrough modern sports novel the contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero. Being a contender is not about raw talent or the kind of innate skill that few possessbeing a contender, as mr. Ala best of the best books for young adults ala notable childrens book new york public library books for the teen age. Donatelli tried to dissuade alfred from boxing, by telling him the many triffles he would have to go through to become a contender, but alfred still wants to try. Gathering his courage, he starts going to donatelli s gym, a neighborhood boxing club famous for training champions.
Free online study guidethe contender by robert lipsytebook. Donatelli measures and weighs alfred and then asks him. The contender themes moodbiography by robert lipsyte. There he learns its the effort, not the win, that makes the man that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count. To ask other readers questions about the contender, please sign up. Hes a high school dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. Donatelli tells him that it is the process of becoming a champion that makes a man special. The contender is a comingofage novel whose protagonist, a black seventeenyearold high school dropout named alfred brooks, lives with his aunt pearl and her three daughters in harlem, a predominantly african american neighborhood in manhattan, new york city, in the mid1960s.
The contender is the debut novel by american author and sports journalist robert lipsyte. Alfred will have to get up and run each morning and eat healthy meals. Donatelli influences alfreds character is he gives alfred the opportunity to be a contender. He tells the veteran trainer that he wants to be a boxer, a champion. Donatelli and other boxers and trainers teach him how to box. Donatelli tells alfred that he will always be there in the gym, and what happens next is up to alfred. So aflred begins going to donatelli s gym, a boxing club in harlem thats trained champions. It kept me interested the entire time i was reading it. Alfreds father deserted the family when alfred was ten years old.
The contender also reflects robert lipsytes belief that athletics can help young people to become disciplined and selfconfident. Donatelli is an unlikely but undeniable dreammaker. Determined to not fall prey to drugs and crime like so many of the other teens in his neighborhood, alfred brooks joins donatelli s gym in order to become a boxer. Donatelli knows that while boxing is probably not the answer, it could eventually. Honest names for all the books on your english syllabus. Here alfred learns that boxing is a better path than gangs and drugs which his neighborhood is full of. The rising action begins when alfred enters donatellis gym, where he will.
Lipsyte does a good job describing the characters and showing their emotional and physical feelings. Summary alfred retrieves the euphoria of his morning run as he bounces up the friendly stairs leading to donatellis gym. The breakthrough modern sports novel the contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero this acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter robert lipsyte, the recipient of the margaret a. Donatelli tells alfred that a contender is willing to pay the price. The contender gwinnett county public library overdrive. So he joined donatellis boxing gym to turn his life around. The books plot centers on a black seventeenyearold man named alfred. Corey makes alfreds first mouthpiece, a significant rite of passage for the aspiring boxer. Compare the speech at the rally to the speech in church. He tells donatelli the man who runs the gym that he wants to be a somebody and a champion at boxing some day, donatelli tells him that before you can be a champion, you have to be a contender.
The contender complete except no chapter summaries. Donatelli respects hard work, perseverance, and character more than raw talent. My favorite part is when alfred is fighting griffin. The contender by robert lipsyte essay, literature, the. He values the process more than the result, the journey more than the arrival. Red picks a fight with the elder but shrewder bud martin at donatellis gym. Chapter 6 introduces alfred, and the reader, to the world of donatelli s gym. Free study guide for the contender by robert lipsyte free booknotes previous page. Most recently, some street punks have started to harass alfred for something he didnt do. Within the confines of the gym, donatelli and bud martin set and enforce the code.
What is the difference between being a contender and being a champion. The contender by robert lipsyte scholastic books for kids. Most importantly, donatelli urges alfred to be a contender, in life as well as in boxing. Donatelli and tells him he is there to learn to be a fighter. Most importantly, donatelli urges alfred to be a contender, in life as well as in. My opinion for the contender is that it is a great book.
The contender the breakthrough modern sports novel the contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero. While the odds of one being a champion are slim, he knows that anyone can be a contender. Donatelli is a short, stocky man with crewcut white hair and pale blue eyes. Henry johnson is a young man with a crippled left leg as a result of. Of course, donatelli is speaking about life as well as boxing. Feb, 2018 the breakthrough modern sports novel the contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero this acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter robert lipsyte, the recipient of the margaret a. Donatelli draws an important distinction between being a champion and being a contender. Donatelli helped alfred to discover his goal in life.
There he learns its the effort, not the win, that makes the boxerthat before you can be a champion, you have to be a contender. The three steep flights of stairs to donatelli s gym represent a long and uphill struggle to get somewhere. He is the boss in his own gym, but he believes in giving people a second chance. This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter robert. You have to start by wanting to be a contender, the man coming up.
There he learns its the effort, not the win, that makes the man, that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count. This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter robert lipsyte, the recipient of the margaret a. For the true contender, the journey is more important than the arrival. Jan 26, 2010 the breakthrough modern sports novel the contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero. Donatelli hadnt given alfred the opportunity to be a contender, alfred would probably have just quit the gym and going there would have only been a waste. He wanted to find out if he was ever going to become a contender. Donatelli is gruff, honest, and cares about his fighters. It is through his training as a boxer that alfred learns to be determined and dedicated. After learning that his best friend james has chosen a destructive path, alfred decides to join donatellis gym and train as an.
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