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How Can Alfred Brooks Be Affected By Peer Pressure

Decent Essays

In The Contender by Robert Lipsyte, the character Alfred Brooks is a 17 year old African American high school dropout living with his aunt in Harlem. Alfred interacts with the theme, “don’t be affected by peer pressure.”. Alfred Brooks reacts to this concept in positive and negative ways. I feel that this theme is important to me, as well.
First, Alfred responds to the main idea “don’t be affected by peer pressure” in a beneficial way. He disallows his peer’s attempt to influence his actions. In chapter 8, Major, a member of the neighborhood, tries to push Alfred to participate in a robbery. From page 92 to 94 of The Contender, the text reads, “[Major] “Friday night we gonna hit Epsteins’ again.... This time, you gonna help us.” “No chance,” …show more content…

He lets someone else convince him to do something he does not believe in. This is expressed in chapter 11 of The Contender, while Alfred is in the clubroom with Major and Arlene. On page 117, the novel states, “Major came around with the wine bottle, and Arlene drank from it. Alfred pushed it away, twice, when Major pressed it against his chest. Then he came back with half an orange soaked in vodka. “This is good for you, man.” Why not, Alfred thought. He sucked on it… Someone began passing a cigarette around...Alfred shook his head when Arlene put it between his lips. “It’s relax you, honey,” she said, stroking the back of his neck, and he inhaled.” This later leads alfred further into trouble when he goes to coney island, and the following day he felt sick and passed out several times. These quotes and events show how Alfred responds to “don’t be affected by peer pressure” in a detrimental way. Here is another reply Alfred Brooks has to this …show more content…

I think that peer “pressure” can push someone towards negatives or positives, and I choose not to apply the idea to every situation. I believe peer pressure impacts a person in society no matter the conditions, a society involves people living together. For instance, the expectations of my peers influences my behavior in a classroom. They might cause me to feel shame or humiliation if I do something they consider “wrong”. Or, my peers could encourage me. This shows how “peer pressure” can have different effects, and I believe it is impossible as well as unreasonable to always avoided peer pressure. In addition, this reveals why the concept “don’t be affected by peer pressure” is important to me. Peer pressure affects me everyday, sometimes I do not have control over its affect on

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