c. Choose a quote from the book and share your critical thinking in response.
"'It's gonna be hard. Damn these Honolulu guys, they train like pros. They no work, just train.' Tosh worked for 48 hours a week like everybody else and he worked all day even on the Saturdays he was to fight." pg 54
Its very hard to compete with someone who has enough time to make their sport, the main thing they do in their life. Unfortunately, like Tosh, having a job is incredibly necessary if you want to be successful in life. What makes this even hard is the traditions with working that Tosh has to deal with in his family. This gives him so much work to do before he can practice. The only way Tosh can make boxing his full time job is if he became professional. Unfortunately his work schedule doesn't allow him to practice enough to become professional
All this does seem unfair but that really is just the way life works. You work for a living and live for working unless you get lucky or get a big break. It would be nice to become professional with a hobby you really enjoy but life makes it a lot harder to achieve that.
I liked the quote you selected to comment upon. I think Toshio and Kiyoshi could have made it pro if they were free from their filial piety. As you may recall, Toshio did have the opportunity to take the place of one of the amatuer boxers in Honolulu when he turned pro, but because Tosh was number one son, he made the decision to stay and work so as not to leave Kiyoshi solely responsible for paying off the family debt.
ReplyDeleteHI,
ReplyDeleteInteresting look at this quote. You bring up good idea on to the back ground behind this quote and its context in the book. The fact that Tosh is unable to become a professional boxer he must practice all the time, but in order to survive he must work. Tosh is torn between following his dreams, and responsibilities. I liked what you had to say about this quote, thanks.