Million Dollar Baby

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F.X Toole’s short story “Million Dollar Baby” is written with compassion, desire, and heart. The archetype that best represents the story is “Innocence to Experience”. Maggie Fitzgerald the protagonist of this short story is well known of the art of boxing and fights with the hope of becoming famous in this pro sport. Maggie had been attending Frankie Dunn’s gym. Through stories that Maggie had been told, Frankie was an experienced boxer, turned trainer who treats his boxers with respect and determination. After much prodding and pleading by Maggie, Frankie agrees to train her. Frankie schedules many fights and Maggie’s wins accumulate. In doing so, Maggie realizes her social status and ambition to be great increasing possibly leading to injuries, which the over age boxer suddenly comprehends is her downfall. When ambition continuously drives you towards greater success, life can take a tragic turn. Born and raised in a trailer, Maggie is a 30 year old woman from Southwestern Missouri blending into society like any other citizen of the United States. She is not noticed for any of her previous fights that she had contended in and hopes that she will eventually be seen as a great honorable fighter. Like many others in her community her career is going no where because of her low class status and being looked down upon. For example... “She was trailer trash, like so many of the people in the region, and grew up being looked down upon” (Toole, 68). Maggie’s opportunities are limited because her parents have very little to offer towards education and money, but she does not allow negativity to stop her from achieving her dream. After long, hard hours of training with Frankie, her record was 18 wins, 3 losses, with 8 knockouts, and noticed that she appeared often in the media for her continual success. Such as: “She was beginning to get attention in the media, and

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