Prewitt monologue from From Here to Eternity

Prewitt’s monologue

Some of the guys are puttin' me over the jumps 'cause I don't want to fight…yeah, on the boxing team. I don't want to box. I don't even want to think about it…see, I used to fight, middleweight. And I was pretty good and they know it…I used to work out with this guy Dixie Wells. He's a real good friend of mine. Loved to box. People on the outside had their eye on him. He was gonna come out of the Army and go right up to the top. Well, one afternoon, he and I were sparrin' around in the gym, you know, kind of friendly-like. And, he must have been set pretty flat on his feet 'cause I caught him with a, no more'n ordinary right cross, and uh, he didn't get up. He didn't move. He was in a coma for a week, and uh, finally, he did pull out of it. Only the thing was that he was blind. Well, I went to see him at the hospital a couple of times and finally I just couldn't go back. The last time he and I started talking about fighting, and uh, he started to cry. And seein' tears comin' out of those eyes that couldn't see anything.

Excerpt for study and audition practice. Read the full play for context.