Amigo Brothers quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which genre best describes “Amigo Brothers”?

   • Historical Fiction
   • Science Fiction
   • Correct answer: Realistic Fiction
   • Fantasy
   • Mystery

   Realistic Fiction is exactly right. The characters, places, and events are made up, but every one of them could exist: two teenage boxers, a Boys Club, a tenement roof, a neighborhood that turns out for a big fight.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Even while joking, the two boys “sensed a wall rising between them.” What does this metaphor suggest?

   • The boys are still angry over an old argument
   • Correct answer: The coming fight is pushing the friends apart
   • A new fence is going up along the East River
   • Their trainers have told them not to speak

   There is no real wall. The metaphor shows that the coming fight is already putting distance between two friends who have always been close. It also foreshadows the question the whole story asks: will the wall still be standing when the fight is over?

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3. 3

   Question 3. On their morning run along the East River Drive, what promise does Felix ask Antonio to make?

   • To split any prize evenly, whoever wins the bout
   • To stop at once if either one gets badly hurt
   • To accept the decision and never argue about it
   • Correct answer: To fight all out, as though they had never met

   Felix proposes the pact: “When we get into the ring, it’s gotta be like we never met.” Antonio agrees and sums it up: “No pulling punches. We go all the way.” They seal the deal by slapping skin.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Where does Felix stay while the friends train apart?

   • Correct answer: With his Aunt Lucy in the Bronx
   • With his cousin over in Brooklyn
   • With his trainer near 14th Street
   • With his uncle in Spanish Harlem

   Felix goes to stay with his Aunt Lucy in the Bronx and works out at Gleason's Gym, where his manager has sparring partners “with more or less your style.”

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5. 5

   Question 5. Why does Felix suggest that they not see each other until the day of the fight?

   • He thinks Antonio has been watching him train
   • His manager has ordered him to leave the block
   • Correct answer: He hopes to get his head ready to face his friend
   • He is upset that Antonio was matched against him

   Staying apart lets each boy psych himself up to face the other as an opponent. Antonio agrees: “Yeah, it would be better for our heads.” Felix adds that after the fight “we can get it together again like nothing ever happened.”

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6. 6

   Question 6. How do Antonio's and Felix's fighting styles differ?

   • Antonio is the better slugger; Felix is the quicker boxer
   • Antonio fights close in; Felix stays away and jabs
   • Correct answer: Antonio is the better boxer; Felix is the better slugger
   • They fight alike, so the bout will come down to stamina

   “Antonio’s lean form and long reach made him the better boxer, while Felix’s short and muscular frame made him the better slugger.” In the ring Antonio dances and jabs from long range, while Felix bobs, weaves, and bores in close, because he knows at long range “Antonio had too much reach on him.”

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does "Superimposed" mean in this story?

   • Correct answer: Placed over another image so both show
   • Wiped out of a picture without a trace
   • Blown up far beyond its normal size
   • Played back slowly, one frame at a time

   Superimposed means laid on top of another image. As the champ on screen lands his killer blow, Felix sees “Antonio’s face, superimposed on the screen,” over the face of the movie's challenger.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What happens in Felix's mind while he watches The Champion with Kirk Douglas?

   • He decides the fight looks too bloody and he should quit
   • He sees how easily Antonio could beat him in a long bout
   • He walks out early because he can't stand the violence
   • Correct answer: He pictures himself as the champ and Tony as the challenger

   Felix went “in an effort to keep Antonio’s face away from his fists,” but instead “Felix became the champ and Tony the challenger.” He leaves the theater with his way of psyching himself up: “It was Felix the Champion vs. Antonio the Challenger.”

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9. 9

   Question 9. The night before the fight, what does Antonio decide is the way to spare Felix hurt?

   • Let him take the opening round
   • Correct answer: Knock him out early and quickly
   • Fight carefully and win on points
   • Ask the referee to watch him closely

   Antonio reasons that a long fight would hurt his friend more: “To spare Felix hurt, he would have to knock him out, early and quick.” Felix, up in the Bronx, is hoping for the same thing, a quick knockout in the first round.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these is an internal conflict in the story?

    • Felix versus the gang kids who eye him as a stranger
    • Antonio versus Felix for the Golden Gloves spot
    • The referee versus two boys who won't stop fighting
    • Correct answer: Each boy's wish to win versus his fear of hurting a friend

    An internal conflict is a struggle inside one character (person versus self). Each boy wants to win “fair and square,” yet Antonio admits he has been lying awake “pulling punches on you, trying not to hurt you.” Antonio versus Felix in the ring is the external conflict (person versus person).

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11. 11

    Question 11. When the announcer gives their weights, who is heavier?

    • Antonio, by one pound
    • Felix, by five pounds
    • Antonio, by five pounds
    • Correct answer: Felix, by one pound

    Felix weighs in at 134 pounds and Antonio at 133. A single pound between them shows how evenly matched the two friends are.

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12. 12

    Question 12. When the bell ends round one, both boys freeze a punch in midair. What does this show?

    • They are too worn out to finish the punch
    • Correct answer: They respect the rules and each other
    • They fear the referee will take away points
    • They want the crowd to think the bout is fixed

    “Both amigos froze a punch well on its way, sending up a roar of approval for good sportsmanship.” Even while fighting as hard as they can, the two friends follow the rules and honor each other.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "Bedlam" mean in this story?

    • A hush of shocked, total silence
    • Correct answer: A scene of wild noise and uproar
    • A wave of polite, scattered claps
    • A short rest called by the referee

    Bedlam means a scene of wild noise and confusion. When Antonio's punch catches Felix on the chin, “Bedlam broke loose as Felix’s legs momentarily buckled” and the crowd goes wild.

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14. 14

    Question 14. What surprises Felix at the start of the third and final round?

    • Correct answer: Antonio charges across the ring at him
    • Antonio stays on his stool in the corner
    • Antonio starts fighting left-handed
    • Antonio's trainer throws in the towel

    In rounds one and two Felix did the rushing. Now, “to Felix’s surprise, it was Antonio who came out fast, charging across the ring.” The careful boxer throws caution away and slugs it out toe-to-toe.

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15. 15

    Question 15. What does "Mucho corazón" mean in this story?

    • With little skill and no plan
    • With bitter anger at each other
    • With slow, careful, cautious moves
    • Correct answer: With great heart and courage

    Mucho corazón is Spanish for “much heart.” The narrator says that by the third round the two had fought with mucho corazón: with courage and all the spirit they had.

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16. 16

    Question 16. “Their blows continued to pound on each other like hailstones.” Which literary device is this?

    • A metaphor, saying one thing is another
    • Correct answer: A simile, comparing two things with like
    • Onomatopoeia, a word imitating a sound
    • Personification, giving things human traits

    The sentence compares the boys' punches to hailstones using the word like, so it is a simile. The fight scenes are full of them: Felix rushes Antonio “like a bull,” and Antonio's left hand is like a piston pumping jabs.

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17. 17

    Question 17. Why does Thomas mix Spanish words such as panín, hermano, and cheverote into the dialogue?

    • To hide the boys' plans from their trainers
    • To show that the boys just arrived in New York
    • Correct answer: To capture the voice of their Puerto Rican block
    • To make the announcer hard for the crowd to follow

    Antonio and Felix grew up on the Lower East Side, which a spectator calls by its neighborhood name, Loisaida. Their mix of English and Spanish (panín means pal, hermano means brother, cheverote means terrific) makes them sound like real kids from that Puerto Rican community.

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18. 18

    Question 18. Why does Thomas never tell readers who won the fight?

    • Correct answer: The friendship, not the decision, is what matters
    • He planned to reveal the result in a later story
    • The fight was halted early, so no score was kept
    • Neither boy cares about boxing after the fight

    Before the announcement, the narrator tells us: “No matter what the decision, they knew they would always be champions to each other.” The announcer begins to name the winner, turns, and finds himself alone; the two friends have already left the ring together. The story's real question was whether the friendship would survive, and that is the one it answers.

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19. 19

    Question 19. Which theme does the story best support?

    • Winning is the only thing that counts in sports
    • Leaving home is the only way to find success
    • Hard training always guarantees a victory
    • Correct answer: True friendship can survive fierce competition

    The boys fight with everything they have, yet once they are pulled apart “The fear soon gave way to wave upon wave of cheering as the two amigos embraced.” Competing hard and staying friends turn out not to be opposites.

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20. 20

    Question 20. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • Antonio and Felix grew up in the same tenement building on Fifth Street.

      Happened

      They have known each other since childhood, growing up in the same building on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

    • The fight is held in the gymnasium of the Boys Club.

      Didn't happen

      The Boys Club gym was not large enough, so the fight is moved outdoors to Tompkins Square Park, where people can watch from ringside, fire escapes, and rooftops.

    • Felix trains at Gleason's Gym while staying in the Bronx.

      Happened

      He tells Antonio he can use Gleason's Gym for working out, where his manager has sparring partners with a style like Antonio's.

    • Antonio spends the night before the fight on the roof of his tenement.

      Happened

      He looks down six stories at the city lights and shadowboxes to cut off his doubts before he goes to sleep.

    • Felix gets into a street fight with gang members on his walk home from the movie.

      Didn't happen

      The kids eye him as a stranger, so Felix shows off a fast shuffle and a torrent of practice blows at the air. The kids go about their own business, and he goes to his aunt's.

    • Antonio wears sky blue trunks and red socks into the ring.

      Didn't happen

      Those are Felix's colors. Antonio wears white trunks, black socks, and black shoes.

    • Fans in white T-shirts with the word FELIX on them escort Felix from his classroom.

      Happened

      A dozen fans walk him out of the junior high school, which serves as the dressing room for all the fighters.

    • The ring doctor stops the fight after the second round.

      Didn't happen

      The doctor checks both fighters after round two and gives his okay, and the fight goes on to the third and final round.

    • The boys keep punching after the final bell until they are pried apart.

      Happened

      The bell sounds over and over, but the boys are past hearing it. The referee and both trainers have to pull them apart and pour cold water over them.

    • The announcer names the winner while both boys stand beside him in the ring.

      Didn't happen

      He turns to point to the winner and finds himself alone. Arm in arm, the two friends have already left the ring, and the winner is never named.

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