In this chapter, Lipsyte provides the first indication that Alfred may not have the killer instinct necessary for a career as a professional boxer. Alfred is developing well and wins a fight that he could easily have lost, but he is more concerned that he might injure his opponent than he is with winning.
Lipsyte’s imagery is descriptive and apt. Griffin is no puncher, but the repeated blows feel like the stings of a hundred bees and leave Alfred swollen and dazed. Griffin’s gloves are “a red blur tapping away at Alfred’s face, easy and steady as rain on a roof, pitter-pat, pitter-pat.” Alfred stands a chance only after Griffin wears himself out hitting Alfred’s face. The months of training come into play as Alfred is able to call on reserves of fitness and skill, and a beauty of a hook, to deck the opponent. Instead of being elated, however, Alfred feels sick.
A brief appearance by Harold and Lynn, the young black nationalists, foreshadows an eventual development in the novel. They want Alfred to become involved in a recreation program for the youth of the community. They feel that the kids would respect a boxer. As Lipsyte reveals in the next chapter, the idea is to develop black leadership that the children can relate to and respect, because, too often, whites (to whom the kids have difficulty relating) have run such programs.
