Peekay the Welterweight (Chapter 4-6)

When Pisskop left the boarding school, he started a transformation. The kinder, more accepting personality of Hoppie allowed for this growth. Mevrou's harsh rules and racist judgments were longer forced on Peekay. Hoppie let him take off his tackies, and even found a way to replace them with nicer tackies that actually fit. Instead of letting Peekay eat the gross sandwiches packed for him, Hoppie paid for Peekay to eat the much nicer train food. Hoppie accepted Peekay. Mevrou hated Peekay because of his English ancestry, but Hoppie turned being English into a positive. While Mevrou hated Peekay for things his ancestors did, Hoppie accepted that the past is over and that you can't feed your hate on the past. In the boarding school, the Judge was dominant because of his age and size, but Hoppie introduced the idea that small could beat big. He demonstrated that having a plan could let you win regardless of size when he beat Jackhammer Smit, who was 60 pounds heavier than Hoppie. Hoppie also taught Peekay that being confident can unnerve your opponent. Jackhammer Smit taunts Hoppie to try to upset him. Hoppie responds calmly, and it is Jackhammer Smit who becomes frustrated and angry, which inhibits Jackhammer Smit during the fight. Hoppie encouraged Peekay to take risks. Peekay bet on the boxing match with money that was supposed to be for emergencies. Hoppie introduced Peekay to boxing. Most of the other lessons were taught with relation to or justified by boxing. More importantly, it also gave Peekay something to be passionate about.