Hemingway, Ernest. "Fifty Grand".

Summary

- Jack, a boxer, prepares himself for a difficult fight

- he suffers from insomnia, drinks to excess in order to fall asleep

- attempts to train, but his attempts are miserable, so instead of training he lies in the bed

- misses his wife and children, feels sorry for losing so much due to boxing

- he bets fifty grand on his losing the fight

- a detailed description of the fight

- his competitor, Walcott, hits him under the stomach

- Jack fouls Walcott in the same place where he was hit himself

- Walcott is declared the winner, but Jack seems to be content

Analysis

- the language of the dialogues is adapted to the boxing setting

- the first person narrator is not the central character

- theme: vulnerability of a man (and possibly of masculinity)

- conclusion: though seemingly a loser, Jack gets as much as he only can out of his unavoidable defeat