Quotes From The Contender

Ruby Zastenchik 3/20/15

Mrs. Clark Essay C English 8

The Contender Essay

In the novel, The Contender by Robert Lipsyte there are numerous characters who encounter opportunities that led them to believe a different perspective about their future. Martin Luther King Jr’s quote “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” can relate to the emotions, characters feel during the beginning of a journey involving new challenges. The protagonist, Alfred Brooks had a complicated life before he met positive influences, such as Donatelli’s Gym. The staircase symbolized Alfred’s perception towards life at the

moment. As Alfred slowly walked up the stairs his perception went towards a more effective view. Various characters in The Contender have made conscientious efforts to change.
Throughout the novel The Contender 17 year-old Henry Johnson has been placed from rock bottom to slowly being part of the gym environment.

Before Henry worked at Donatelli’s Gym he would linger around aimlessly because there weren’t many jobs available to him due to his Polio disease that affected his walking ability. Many times in the novel Henry encounters life without realizing the negative influences around him. “He looked up once, and saw Henry across the street, dragging his bad leg and smiling as if being crippled was the best thing in the world.”(pg. 25) This text based detail describes how lucky Henry feels to be around the gym environment even if he is not able to participate in the actual boxing. During his work in Donatelli’s Gym Henry becomes a major influence for Alfred’s boxing career. Without Henry at his side then Alfred would have felt discouraged and would have gave up boxing before his first match. With Henry being part of the gym environment he can now feel proud and look forward to hanging with the other boxers without having the struggle of feeling left out. Henry’s change can relate to the quote “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” because the staircase symbolizes the process of how Henry gradually moved up. Each step showed Henry’s confident viewpoint during his navigation of change from the low point to being part of the boxing

lifestyle.
The author of The Contender, Robert Lipsyte portrays different characters in his novel to express the variety of people that were implicated during the Harlem Renaissance. In the beginning of the story James, Alfred’s best friend is caught up with Major and his gang in the club room and is soon hypnotized by the negative behavior that they represent. With Major by his side James obtains a serious drug addiction, one that will soon take over his life. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” As the story progresses Alfred attempts to reach out to James as much as possible. Even though James may feel worried about his chance to recover, he will always have the support from Alfred to guide him up the first step of change. Towards the end of the novel, James soon understands that doing nonconstructive actions will result in an awful future. “Why do you wanna do all this? ... Because I know I can, James. And you’re my partner.” (pg. 226)Without Alfred there to hold up James there would have been no chance of James making progress. The main point of The Contender was that James life changed by accepting help.
One of the most central protagonists in this work of fiction is Alfred Brooks