The Contender

The Contender By Robert Lipsyte The Contender is a book about a young black boy named Alfred Brooks, growing up in a poor part of New York. Alfred is faced with a struggle inside himself to become a better person. Alfred does not want to be just another “good little slave”, but he doesn’t want to find himself in trouble with Major and Hollis either. Alfred talks with another local boy named Henry, and …

…a champion, and even though his career is only four fights, he becomes a better person because of it. I would recommend this book to anybody with confidence problems. This book helps the reader feel that the can conquer great barriers. If a boy like Alfred can become a contender, then they can too. He goes from having nothing, to having nothing… but at least he knows he is a contender in life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**