Dale que dale Cortázar: boxeando con palabras en "Torito"

Abstract

There is a direct relationship between the body of the short-story "Torito" that readdresses us to the body of the boxer, both as part of a game in order to escape from the "Big Custom". The common denominator that lets us play in this cortazarian game is the colloquial language that the author uses as a stylistic resource, and at the same time the character Torito employs in order to remember his past and forget his immediate present. I will first discuss what Cortazar calls the "Big Custom" and show some examples in this short-story to analyze the function of both language and boxing. The short-story's body as well as the boxer's body build up a fight in front of the reader. Both ringsides-the short-story and the boxer's body-invite the reader, the author and the narrator to play and challenge death.