The story Fat City, by Leonard
Gardner, presents important, universal themes. I believe those you have identified both
fit into the message the author is attempting to convey to the
reader.
Fat City concentrates on two
boxers who want to experience success in the boxing ring, and bring that success into
their personal lives. Billy Tully is closer to the end of a boxing career, while Ernie
Munger is just getting started.
Both men are presented with
solid opportunities to make themselves a name in boxing. The similarities in the two men
are the things that ultimately get in the path to their success. Both Billy and Ernie
lack the focus and commitment to filter out life's distractions and pursue their dreams
with pure passion.
Instead, they allow those "distractions"
to derail their progress. Tully's life quickly falls into ruin, and besides losing his
dream of boxing, he loses, too, the opportunity to make amends to his wife and start
fresh. Similarly, and unfortunately, by the end of the story, iMunger, even so young,
with so much potential and promise, is taking the same self-destructive path as Billy
has taken.
The themes I see here
are:
...that
life cannot come to you: you must meet life head-on. And it must be done with complete
dedication and unwavering motivation. Everyone experiences obstacles, disappointments
and heartaches, but many people are so committed, that nothing can stand in their
way.[Overall, the] message...from Gardner's book is that
one must be truly dedicated to one's purpose in order to achieve it, and avoid those
things or individuals that people sometimes invite into their lives that bring with them
failure and loss of hope.
I
hope this is of some help.
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