Rabbit Run by John Updike
The world of John Updike's Rabbit, Run is a collection of polarities that dramatizes the in-betweeness and the constant state of tension that characterizes humanity. A cursory perusal of John Updike's Rabbit, Run reveals a world of hopeless futility in which Harry Angstrom runs in ever-tightening circles. Rabbit is always running, from one woman to another, between Brewer and Mt. Judge, between solitude and society. Rabbit is torn because he has faith in something meaningful in the world, somewhere, but he fails to find it during any of his frequent but brief stops. More important than the futile vacuity of Rabbit's world, however, is the fact that he never gives up his quest. He searches through sex, orthodox faith, and family for a sign that life is not meaningless. Rabbit conceives of that thing he wants to find as embodied in the perfectly hit golf ball whose path is straight and true, the arc gradually rising in geometric continuity, traveling far before falling gently to earth with an imperceptible thud. It is neither the nature of Rabbit's travels, nor what he discovers that is vital; it is the fact that he never gives up in his pursuit of excellence that finally confirms John Updike's affirmation of the indomitability of the human character.
The structure of Rabbit, Run provides the outline of Updike's intention. The novel begins and ends with flight.
Updike focuses on a Rabbit who is unhappy in his marriage to his wife Janice Springer, pregnant with their second child, alcoholic, and addicted to the balm of the Mouseketeers. Ironically, Jimmy, one of the Mouseketeers, puts things in perspective one night for Rabbit, who has returned home from his job demonstrating the MagiPeeler in five-and...
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...he runs: Ah: runs". The conclusion suggests at the least an ephemeral hope, and in the most generous reading, an ecstatic proclamation. After all that Rabbit has endured, he persists in his hopeful vision. This reveals his creator, Updike, to be highly affirmative of the indomitability of the human spirit. Like a pebble in a spring stream, Rabbit is, by his own designs and by those of others, tossed to and fro. He endures the death of his newborn baby, the rejection of his mother, the ineffectual and foolish machinations of the Reverend Eccles, and the loss of Tothero who, behind his mother, had the second greatest influence on his life. Finally, he loses contact with the child he conceived with Ruth. In spite of this, Rabbit retains hope in a future in which he will find the straight path that appeases his appetite and appeals to his sense of orderliness and peace.
Rabbit imagery is used to show the wishful thinking of how the relationship between Lennie and George will end. To illustrate their relationship, John Steinbeck uses rabbits to demonstrate their dreams of having their own piece of land. Occasionally, Lennie will have George tell him about the piece of land they will buy, just to make him feel good about themselves. From the beginning to the end of the novella, the author John Steinbeck has the image of rabbits repeated as a reminder to the readers. “No place for rabbits now, but I could easy build a few hutches and you could feed alfalfa to the rabbits” (ch3, p57). The rabbits are going to have their own place, live peacefully in the hutches George is planning to build. Since Lennie will be the one to take care of the rabbits they would not have anything to do, they will basically be living a peaceful life. Through the rabbits Lennie and George are considered as outsiders by the other farm workers, as they are the only pair of men to travel together and to think they would be able to take possession of their dream land within a month. The use of rabbits is to emphasize the relationship between two
rabbit’s gains him a lot of sympathy from the reader as it is the kind
In his poem “The Great Scarf of Birds”, John Updike uses a flock of birds to show that man can be uplifted by observing nature. Updike’s conclusion is lead up to with the beauty of autumn and what a binding spell it has on the two men playing golf. In Updike’s conclusion and throughout the poem, he uses metaphors, similes, and diction to show how nature mesmerizes humans.
John Updike gives the reader an inside look into the adolescent mind of Sammy, which give the reader a better understanding of his personality. All of these literary devices enhance the meanings of the story's symbols as the boy's personality and view of his world move from content, to admiration, to resignation. Sammy, the first person narrator, plays an essential role in portraying an in depth viewpoint of the story. His portrayal of a typical teen working in a dead-end job, his thoughts and feelings are very obvious in the story "A & P."
Wells, Walter. "John Updike's 'A & P'" Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 30, (1993) : Spring, pp. 127(7).
McFarland, Ronald E. "Updike and the Critics: Reflections on 'A&P.'" Studies in Short Fiction 20.2-3 (1983): 95-100.
In his short story "A & P" John Updike utilizes a 19-year-old adolescent to show us how a boy gets one step closer to adulthood. Sammy, an A & P checkout clerk, talks to the reader with blunt first person observations setting the tone of the story from the outset. The setting of the story shows us Sammy's position in life and where he really wants to be. Through the characterization of Sammy, Updike employs a simple heroic gesture to teach us that actions have consequences and we are responsible for our own actions.
Additionally, John Updike captivated his audience by taking everyday situations and turning them into life lessons that America values. One may not quite understand this authors’ method, but like Shakespeare, the more read, the more understood. Imagery and symbolism go hand in hand that turns a story into magic. It is alluring. Updike makes it clear why these short stories are written: they tell intriguing stories of learning about life.
John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds” expresses the varying emotions the narrator experiences as he witnesses certain events from nature. His narration of the birds throughout the poem acts as numerous forms of imagery and symbolism concerning him and his life, and this becomes a recollection of the varying emotional stances he comes to terms with that he has experienced in his life. These changes are so gradually and powerfully expressed because of a fluent use of diction and figurative language, specifically symbolism and simile, and aided by organization.
The short story A&P written by John Updike takes place in a small town grocery store just north of Boston. The story is being portrayed through the eyes of Sammy. Sammy is a nineteen year old who works there as a checker. One Thursday afternoons the store is empty for the most part. The only people that inter the store are old women or women with six children whom he refers both to as sheep, when three girls walk in dressed with nothing more than bathing suits. This catches his eye and he watches them closely and studies each one of them with great detail. He give the leader of the girls the name "Queenie" for the way she carries herself and the way the others follow. Sammy knows that they are not dressed according to the stores guidelines but makes no effort to say anything until his manager Lengel steps in. Because of this there are consequences at stake. The moral to the story is to stand up for what you think is right even though there are positive and/or negative consequences to consider.
In John Updikes poem ‘Marching Through a Novel’ he utilizes personification to bring the novel and his characters to life. The way in which he displays himself as a general further develops the language needed to convey the relationship between the novelist and the characters in the novel.
Sammy’s decision in the end to break away from the conformity that is in the A&P to establish himself is a raw truthful decision. He has chosen to follow his heart which Updike shows is what every person should do. This story is great for readers of all ages, because Sammy could be any person in modern contemporary society who is struggling to find themselves in a world dominated by conformity, rules, and standards of norms. Updike’s story is a powerful message to seek individualism. Although sometimes the road to self-identity is not known the journey getting there is worth all the while.
In life, people experience different situations and live different realities. It is not illogical to say that the different journeys in life sometimes give us different ways of viewing the world. This was evident upon a closer examination and analysis of Wu Cheng’en’s “The Journey to the West”, and Mary Shelly “Frankenstein”, where the two main characters of the book, a Monkey and a creature, each have a different way of viewing life. The monkey see’s life as a journey that should be explored, while the creature has no way of exploring and sees life as something he cannot enjoy. In the end, what can be taken away from the works of literature is that no matter the journey taken, it is important to remember that one’s subjectivity, built on our experiences, determines reality.
Updike, John. “A&P.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 409-414. Print.
Peter Rabbit and his sisters were forbidden by their mother to enter Mr. McGregor’s garden because it was in this garden that their father had met his end and had become an ingredient of McGregor’s pie. The element of fear had been instilled in th...