The chapter opens with a soliloquy by the narrator, in which he tells the audience that he is fighting for fun and not for real life. He says that if he fought for real, he would not dodge that way. He wonders if he would have been killed if he had fought for the real thing. He is surprised that he did not block the kick, and he is also surprised that his left eye is badly injured. He cannot open it and wonders why he has to wait for the fight to end.