Harry Sylvester's "I Won't Do No Dive"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Harry Sylvester's short story, "I Won't Do No Dive revolves around the concept of the masculine sport of boxing and the conflicts that arise when personal pride is compromised. The author points out that a piece of short fictional sport literature can be engaging and informative to the majority of society, through the use of literary devices, effective writing and a capitalization of building on existing stereotypes. The paper relates that that journalists and other writers of non-fiction sports literature do not always effectively convey the unspoken aspects of a sport; however, a short fictional story can convey much about the nature of a sport through constructed situations and imagined characters.

From the Paper:

"The text in no way introduces boxing as a sport or explains its rules and regulations to the reader. Instead, the sport is casually conveyed through the text, which outlines the protagonist's response to the "dive" offer, and then through the actual physical motions narrated during the match. The reader has already effectively engaged with the main character so as to understand his intentions in standing in the ring, so that, already intelligent of the set-up, all that is left for the text to do is to walk the reader through a typical boxing match and thus encapsulate the true nature of the sport."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Sylvester, Harry (1937). "I Won't Do No Dive." Sports Best Stories (2001). Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 67-76.

More papers on Harry Sylvester's "I Won't Do No Dive":

• Book Review # 99219 : "Harry Sylvester's "I Won't Do No Dive"
• Analytical Essay # 129317 : "Fixing Boxing Matches"

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