Fight or Flight Survival

By frequently placing Liborio in situations that threaten his survival, the author illustrates how the fight or flight response to conflict is an instinctive human reaction that has both its advantages and disadvantages.

The fight or flight response is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived threat to survival. As a character who faces countless threats to his survival throughout the novel, Liborio exhibits this response on a regular basis. A born and bred street fighter, he is more than willing to use physical violence as a means by which to defend himself. We see this in multiple instances, including - but not limited to - when he is confronted by Chuby Jon and his friends on the street and he thinks he is being mugged again, as well as in a flashback when he must defend himself against one...