125 pages • 4 hours read
James Patterson, Kwame AlexanderBecoming Muhammad Ali
James Patterson, Kwame AlexanderFiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Round 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Round 1, Introduction Summary
The novel opens with Lucius (“Lucky”), Cassius Clay’s best friend, declaring that he “remember[s] everything. You probably would have too. That night was a piece of American history” (1). It is February 1958, and Lucky is waiting to hear from Cassius, who is in Chicago, fighting for a championship at the Golden Gloves boxing tournament. Cassius is 16.
Cassius has won a lot of fights in Louisville, Kentucky, his hometown, but the Chicago Golden Gloves is an important tournament. All of his supporters are confident that he will win, and Lucky joins them in a packed room in the Clay household.
Mrs. Clay brags about her son, explaining that “Cassius always told her he was bound to be the greatest—with a capital G—and she believed it with all her heart” (4). Everyone did.
The phone rings, and Cassius recounts the fight.
Round 1, Poem 1 Summary: “Before the Fight”
The perspective and form switch, as Cassius Clay recounts the night through poems.
A reporter asks Cassius if he thinks he’s as good as two other famous boxers, Joe Louis and Sugar Ray. Cassius responds, “I don’t think / I’m as good, / I’m BETTER” (5). The poem moves down along the page, accelerating in tempo as Cassius describes how fast he is in the ring.
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