Coming Of Age Quotes

The classic coming of age novel ‘Runner’ by Robert Newton explores the adolescent period of the teenage boy Charlie Feehan. His life in the slums of Richmond post World War I is completely altered by the death of his father, which pushes Charlie’s family further into poverty and forces him to eventually fill his father’s boots. Although Charlie and his family are burdened by this major loss Charlie is determined to try and help them escape the depths of poverty. This burning sense of empowerment fuels Charlie to run in order to grow past his mistakes, witness the world in a new light and salvage the chance for a better life.

Charlie’s ambitions and internal need for control forces him to run in order to change his own destiny. Young and poor,

Charlie feels disadvantaged and insignificant to the way his life is unfolding. Running becomes an outlet for the frustration Charlie feels and a source of ‘warmth’ in the cold winter months. These months push those who are poor to their limits, forcing them to tear apart their homes and sacrifice many cherished things in order to keep warm, ‘but without money [many] seldom found it’. Except for Charlie Feehan who in an act to prove the stereotype wrong ran through the streets eager to feel ‘the prickle on his skin and the sweat on his brow’, to be exhausted but above all, warm. Over time he starts to see he can ‘carry [himself] out of the slums’ and put his family on a better path, so long as he keeps his strong minded personality and his dreams humble. His determination to free his family from the discomfort of poverty and to be able to have ‘something more, something better, even just a slice’ drives Charlie to fight for the things he knows can benefit them. This desperation and insignificance Charlie feels lures him to make some unlawful decisions that push him to grow as a person.

Unjustified and carless actions have Charlie wallowing in guilt, so in an attempt to redeem himself he runs. Charlie’s family’s financial status puts him in a position where he has to choose what is best for his family, causing him to sometimes do things he wouldn’t usually do under any other ordinary circumstance. However, even though many of his actions can be justified he still has ‘a bit to make up fer’, especially when considering the cowardice decision he made running away and leaving Norman Heath to defend himself against Jimmy Barlow and his friends. This event makes Charlie realise the damage running for Squizzy Taylor can create, and to become more aware of the people around him as they are ‘real people, desperate people, just like [him and ma]’. The new awareness Charlie gains closes the gap between who Charlie is and who Charlie is becoming, because even though working with Squizzy Taylor has kept his family off the streets and given him a sense of control in his life, it was corrupting who he was as a person and that hurt the people around him. As a result Charlie tries to recover who he is and regain the values he holds true to himself through the Ballarat mile, where he uses the money he earns running for Squizzy to bet on himself in an attempt to repay those who have supported him and those who he did wrong by. Charlie undergoes this redemption to demonstrate who he is as a person, while also uncovering various new experiences and places that allow him to see the world in a new light.

Running takes Charlie to new places and opens up a multitude of experiences that free him from the problems he faces.

Before Charlie starts to run, the world was centred around his home, school and family. Therefore when ‘the sleazy streets seduced’ Charlie he took to them like a ‘drunk to a bottle’ eager to witness the city in all its glory and step outside his comfort zone to experience all the wonders it provides. It became his escape from the pitiful life he is living in the slums and a distraction from the heartache he feels, due to his father death and the problems that are occurring at home. Especially during the time in which Ma has to stomach Mr Peacock’s sexual approaches to help her son stay warm, although that isn’t how Charlie perceives it. He is ashamed of his mother and believes ‘she has no right to be wearing his [fathers] ring anymore’. With his outlook on the situation he takes to the streets, running so much he barely sees his mother anymore and he starts to feel ‘more like a tenant than a son’. Charlie is introduced to a whole new world through the solace he finds in running and although this does help him support his family and experience new things, it becomes an outlet to the complications happening within the family

home.

Robert Newton’s novel ‘Runner’ delves into the worries a teenager in 1919 would have to burden. Charlie Feehan the protagonist faces some complex issues through-out the text, in which we see him run away from and try to resolve. Symbolically Charlie runs to escape the more personal issues in his life, whilst physically he runs to avoid injury and to redeem himself. Though through his expedition we observe how Charlie matures and reflects on his decisions, witnesses the world from a new angle and reaches out for the chance to give himself and his family a better life. Although teenagers now do not have to experience such major difficulties, Charlie’s story inspires us to take on the boots of adulthood and stand tall against our problems, because even though running may let us escape them for a while, it most certainly won’t resolve them.