Shreeda Sundaram Ms. Facao Period 3 25 January 2023 Conflict; A Best Friends Guide All great stories have a lesson, something for the reader to hold onto, to learn from a book, and take with them throughout life. This one story is no different, and the two greatest boxers/friends are proof of that. In times when they are forced to challenge the other, Antonio and Felix make the best of it. The conflict turns them into men who are not afraid of genuine affection for their loved ones over meaningless awards. In the short story, “Amigo Brothers”, Piri Thomas uses internal conflict and characterization to convey that one should value friendships above titles and winning. The author uses internal conflict throughout this short story to show Felix …show more content…
The quote shows this, “Felix tapped Antonio gently on the shoulder. ‘I don’t mean to sound like I’m bragging, bro. But I wanna win, fair and square.’ Antonio nodded quietly. ‘Yeah. We both know that in the ring, the better man wins. Friend or no friend, brother or no . . .’ Felix finished it for him. “Brother. Tony, let’s promise something right here. OK?” “If it’s fair, hermano, I’m for it.” (Thomas 161). This quote supports the main theme by showing the reader how well the two know each other. They trust each other to fight fair and square, not holding back, so the other wins, and they even call the other brother. It could be said they are as close as brothers because they actively encourage the other to train and try their best in the ring, even if it means they potentially lose. Again, the text states, “I got too much smarts for …show more content…
The author depicts this in the text by stating, “If Felix had any small doubt about their friendship affecting their fight, it was being neatly dispelled. Antonio danced, a joy to behold…Antonio knew the dynamite that was stored in his amigo brother’s fist…Bong! Both amigos froze a punch well on its way, sending up a roar of approval for good sports-manship.” (Thomas 168). As readers can clearly see in the text, both the boys are simultaneously sure of their partners’ fighting skills, as well as their own. They are almost giddy about the chance to fight equally with their “brother” and don’t hold back, admirably displaying their crafts. The fact that both stopped mid-punch when they could have easily weakened the other, shows that even though they aren’t curbing their own power, they value the other enough to remember that this is just a game. The final quote supporting this theme is, “The fear soon gave way to wave upon wave of cheering as the two amigos embraced. No matter what the decision, they knew they would always be champions to each other. BONG! BONG! BONG! “Ladies and Gentlemen. Señores y Señoras. The winner and representative to the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions is . . .” The announcer turned to point to the winner and found himself alone. Arm in arm the champions had