Beginning of Essay
The spectacle of pits a man against a charging bull. The bullfighter, called a matador, faces the bull in a large dirt-filled arena that is usually surrounded by spectators. Aided by a group of apprentices, called the cuadrilla, the matador goads the bull into ....

Middle of Essay
.... its neck and shoulders. Then come the banderilleros, named after their banderillas, or decorated barbed sticks. Clutching a stick in each hand, they rush the bull on foot and plant the barbs in the animal's neck, weakening and angering the beast even more. Finally the matador comes in for the kill. Brightly dressed, he uses a sword draped with a cloth, called muleta. After a number of intricate passes with the muleta, during which the matador must work extremely close to the bull, the matador sights the bull along his sword, runs forward, and plunges it in, aiming for the half-dollar-size spot between the shoulders. If the sword enters corr ....