From The Book THE CONTENDER ?????

Question

Events From The Novel - It takes courage, DisciplineHard work, and inner strengthTo change one’s life.

WHAT EVENT IN THE BOOK CAN RELATE TO THIS

Answer 1

From Amazon.com Book Review:

Alfred Brooks, a teenager and a high-school dropout, knows that his life is going nowhere. He's had the same old job at a local grocery store, and there are no opportunities for advancement. He wants to be someone, someone special. When one of his best friends, James, starts hanging around with the wrong group of teens, and later is sent to prison for robbing Alfred's grocery store, Alfred knows that his friend's friends are not the kids to be with. To avoid being thrashed by James's possy, Major and Hollis, Alfred wants to defend himself. He doesn't want to be pushed around.

Alfred decides he wants to be a boxer, and begins his training at Donatelli's Gym, a gym that has turned out three champions. At first, Mr. 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. He runs in the morning, eats a select diet, and after work, he goes to the gym to work out.
For a long while, Alfred maintained his training. One night, however, Major and Hollis gang up on Alfred, and bring him to their clubroom. They keep Alfred there by telling him that James had just been let out of prison, and that he would stop by the club. While there, Alfred got drunk from vodka and got high from marijuanna, both of which he was unsuspectant of until James arrived. Before he blacked out, Alfred saw that James was fumbling with a bag of cocaine, and knew that his friend was sinking further and further in to drug addiction. Alfred was very spacey for the next few days.

Later, Alfred resumes his training, and then is fitted for a custom-mouthpiece. This is a sign that shows that Alfred is close to fighting. After three professional fights, Mr. Donatelli states that it is time for Alfred to stop. He has proved what he wanted, to be a fighter. Alfred then went back to night school to finish his education.

This novel is simply amazing! The book tells us that it is not the desire, but the effort to win that makes the man! This book is not just for sport lovers, but is for those who can comprehend the deep meaning of fighting and being a fighter!