Essay About Death Of Benny Paret And Norman Mailer

The Death of Benny Paret
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In “The Death of Benny Paret,” Norman Mailer gives an eyewitness account that explains
the vulgar fight that ended in the death of Benny Paret onMarch 24, 1962. Mailer describes the
viciousness of the fight by comparing the opponent, Griffiths, punches to (” a baseball bat
demolishing a pumpkin”), the way that Griffth (” Was like a cat ready to rip the life out of
[Paret]”) and how Paret (“Went down like a large ship.”) He relates these parts of the fight in
order to place the reader into the ring side seat next to him so they to can witness the horrific
events.
Norman Mailer opens the article with a brief description of Paret as a “Welterweight
champion.” With saying that he was able to “take three punches,” Mailer tries to give the reader
an image of Paret being an unstoppable force. Paret had “[taken] some bad maulings” before,
making it appear as though another bad fight could not harm or hurt him. Really that quote was
foreshadowing his death, explaining how his fights had gotten progressively worse as well as his
fighting style.
Mailer sets up and prolongs for the duration of the second paragraph with comparisons of
Griffith and Paret to many objects, each more revealing to Parets slow decline. By Saying “Paret
began to wilt” he compares him to a dieing flower, once so beautiful and strong, now facing
Earth readying itself to go beneath it. Later in the paragraph many animal similes are used, for
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example “Griffith was a cat” while Paret was ” A huge boxed rat,” meaning Griffth was ready
“to rip the life out of” Paret. Lastly another gruesome simile is used comparing Griffiths hits to
Parets head as “a Baseball bat demolishing a pumpkin.” With strong and vivid comparisons the
fight sits clearly in the mind of an educated reader and those who were not at the fight.