How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I didn't want to start under Solly Goldman—my first and only choice—and have to stop. Just getting him to take me as an amateur would be hard enough without messing him around. (18.7)
Just as Peekay will only accept the ultimate championship as satisfactory, he will only take the very best coach. It's another example of his all-or-nothing attitude. As Patrick Henry once said, "Give me the best boxing coach, or give me death!" Oh wait…it didn't quite go like that, did it?
Quote #8
I had steeled myself to win so often that, in my mind, a single loss in the ring would have meant that I would not become the welterweight champion of the world. (21.119)
This quote shows us that Peekay sees himself as a machine, or something almost beyond human, and also that most of his wins happen in his head rather than just being physical victories.
Quote #9
Nineteen fifty-one was the year I won the South African schools featherweight title and the Prince of Wales School won the schools championship for the third year running. (23.1)
Here Peekay gives us the idea that his individual determination has the power to bring others along with it, and the school goes from last place to first just through his example.