Griffith Vs Paret Analysis

“This fight had its turns.” Thus Norman Mailer writes a rather “hypnotized” essay explaining the events of the fight during the Griffith vs. Paret fight. From his seat in the second row of the corner, the author uses imagery, characterization, and figurative language to demonstrate the animal-like nature of the two fighters who have captured the attention of Norman Mailer. This begins when Griffith was knocked to the ground in the sixth. He struggled to stand back up but he “came alive” and dominated the rest of the round. Then the true climax of the fight began. Griffith’s punches began to take toll on Paret and as a result, “Paret began to wilt.” This simile convey’s Mailer’s opinion that Paret is starting to show weakness. Later, in the eight round, Griffith delivers a “clubbing punch” that caused Paret to walk three “disgusted steps away, showing his hindquarters.” Mailer uses words like clubbing and disgusted to help explain the nature and expressions both fighters were portraying. “For a champion” it took Paret much too long to turn back around after the blow. It was the first time Paret had ever shown weakness and it must have “inspired a particular shame” within Paret because, Mailer felt the rest of
Finally he was trapped in a corner trying to escape the Griffith like cat “ready to rip the life out of a huge boxed rat.” This combination of a simile and metaphor is another comparison of the fighters and animals. Griffith is unleashing his ferociousness at a trapped Paret that can no longer do anything to stop him. This metaphor also helps the reader picture Griffith destroying Paret in the corner of the ring. Then, Mailer describes the incredible speed of Griffiths punches. He hit him “eighteen times in a row,” in a matter of “three or four seconds”. This description of Griffith helps the reader picture further the beating Paret is