Name ______Period _____ The Contender Study Guide

Quest Day: ______
ü  50 multiple choice questions (comprehension check, grammar and literary terms)
3rd Quarter Benchmark Test Days:______
ü  reading comprehension (1 nonfiction article and 1 poem)
ü  graphic organizer
ü  short response questions
ü  essay

PART I

Review Questions Directions: Listed below are questions/topics that may appear on The Contender test. In each box, write information and notes to answer the question.

1)  Why do you think Donatelli tells Alfred that quitting before he really tries is worse than never starting at all?
2)  What is the greatest conflict or struggle that Alfred faces?
3)  What is a contender? Do you consider Alfred a contender? Explain your answer


PART I (continued)

Review Questions Directions: Listed below are questions/topics that may appear on The Contender test. In each box, write information and notes to answer the question.

4)  How would you explain why Donatelli tells Spoon and Alfred to give up boxing?
5)  How would you explain why Alfred is able to overcome the obstacles in his life while James cannot?
6)  What do you think the cave might represent to Alfred and James?
7)  Why is Alfred so sure he can help James at the end of the novel?


PART II

Character Chart Directions: Listed below are some of the important characters from The Contender. Write at least three character traits to describe that person and tell how/why that person was important in the novel.

Personality
(list 3 character traits) / Importance
Relationship to main character, significance in story.
How was the character successful?
Alfred Brooks
Mr. Donatelli
Major
James Mosely
Lou Epstein


PART II (continued)

Personality
(list 3 character traits) / Importance
Relationship to main character, significance in story.
How was the character successful?
Aunt Pearl
Henry Johnson
Cousin Jeff
Uncle Wilson

PART III

Venn Diagram Directions: On the venn diagram below, compare and contrast the “Old Alfred” in the beginning of the novel to the “New Alfred” in the conclusion.

“Old Alfred” same “New Alfred”


PART IV

Literary Terms Directions: Study the following literary terms and definitions.

1)  Alliteration = using the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

2)  Onomatopoeia = words that imitate sounds.

3)  Personification = giving human qualities to an object or animal.

4)  Characterization = literary techniques to the reveal the nature of a character.

5)  Plot = events of a story.

6)  Climax = highest point of interest or suspense.

7)  Setting = time and place of a story.

8)  Conflict = struggle between opposing forces.

9)  Fiction = writing about imaginary people and places.

10) Nonfiction = writing about real people and places.

11) Flashback = interruption in a story that goes back to the past.

12) Foreshadowing = hint/clues about something to come.

13) Hyperbole = an obvious exaggeration.

14) Metaphor = comparison of 2 things without using the words like or as.

15) Simile = comparison of 2 things using the words like or as.


PART V

THESE ARE A SAMPLE OF THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS YOU WILL SEE ON THE QUEST!

Example Multiple Choice Questions

1)  Choose the answer that shows the correct capitalization and punctuation.

a)  Robert Lipsyte wrote “The Contender” after meeting famous boxer, Muhammad Ali

b)  Robert Lipsyte wrote The Contender after meeting famous boxer, Muhammad Ali.

c)  Robert Lipsyte wrote “the contender” after meeting famous boxer Muhammad Ali.

2)  Which of these is not a complete sentence?

a)  Alfred Brooks enters the Donatelli’s Gym and says.

b)  Alfred Brooks enters Donatelli’s Gym for the first time and says, “I come to be a fighter.”

c)  “I come to be a fighter,” is what Alfred says.

3)  “Griffin went down and flopped over like a rag doll.”

This phrase is an example of

a)  Simile

b)  Metaphor

c)  Hyperbole

4)  What setting is described as, “a dirty gray sky”, “sour air” and “broken glass” in the street?

a)  Jamaica, NY

b)  Epsteins’ Store

c)  the clubroom

d)  Harlem, NY


PART V (continued)

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE THIS ESSAY!

THIS IS A SAMPLE OF WHAT THE 3RD QUARTER BENCHMARK (BASED ON THE CONTENDER) WILL LOOK LIKE!

Sample Essay Question

After reading The Contender by Robert Lipsyte, “The Seventh Round” by James Merrill (page 163 in novel) and “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis” by Richard Wright (page 227- 232 in novel) answer the following question. Compare and contrast the struggles that Alfred faces compared to the main characters in the poem and the short story. How does each character overcome his problems to be successful? Use details from all three sources (The Contender novel, “The Seventh Round” and “The Rights to the Streets of Memphis”) to support your answer.

In your essay, be sure to:

• compare and contrast the struggles that Alfred faces compared to the main characters in the poem and the short story

• explain how each character overcame his problems to be successful

• include details from The Contender novel, “The Seventh Round” poem and “The Rights to the Streets of

Memphis”

• check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Your writing will be scored on:

• how clearly you organize your writing and express what you have learned

• how accurately and completely you answer the questions being asked

• how well you support your responses with examples or details from all three texts

• how correctly you use grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing

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