The Narrator's Attitude in The Pugilist at Rest Webster's dictionary defines it as a mental position or feeling one has for oneself. In life our attitudes help define who you are or how you are. Attitude helps create your personality and how you would react in certain situations. In "The Pugilist at Rest" Thom Jones tells us about the attitude of a man and how adversity and disability have completely changed his attitude. The narrator's attitude changes from boot camp, hitting Hey Baby, from Marine reconnaissance duty, and finally getting Dostoyevski's epilepsy from a boxing match. The narrator of the story undergoes changes in boot camp that will forever change his attitude towards life and his fellow Marines. The story begins by showing a young and foolish narrator who just wanted to rush into battle. The narrator wanted to be all he could be and strived to become the best United States Marine Corps soldier the United States has to offer. Jones describes the narrator's determination and ambitions as: "Whenever danger appears on the scene, truth and justice will be served as I don the green USMC uniform and become Earth's greatest hero." (485). The narrator's attitude would be drastically altered by an inspiring speech his sergeant gave at boot camp. Jones describes this speech as: "You men are going to war, and that's not a good thing," etc. and go get that Marine and take him out. Not because I said so. NO! You're hunting that Marine because you're a Marine, a member of the most elite fighting force in the world, and that man outside of you who fell is a Marine, and he's your friend. He is your brother! Once you're a Marine, you'll always be a Marine and you'll never let another Marine down.' Etc. And so on. “You can take a Marine out of the Corps but you can't take the Corps out of a Marine.” Etc. & etc. At the time it seemed like a very beautiful speech to me,