Draymond's Run, By Toni Cad Baramba

In the short story ¨Raymond‘s Run¨ by Toni Cad Baramba, the protagonist squeaky is a young girl who is taking care of her handicapped brother. They live in the big city of New York. Squeaky real name is Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, she got her nickname because of her squeaky voice. Squeaky proves to be an extremely memorable character because she is a dedicated athlete, protective. And most of all, because she is a nonconformist.

The first reason why squeaky is a memorable character is because she is a very dedicated athlete. For instance In the beginning she says ¨There isn't a track meet I don't win the first place medal.” This shows she must be a fast runner. This makes her memorable because she is a confident athlete. In addition she

comes out and says she needs to practice and get stronger unlike other kids this shows she is a dedicated athlete. Also to prove my point in the middle she claims “Now some people like to act like things come easy to them,won’t let on that they practice. Not me. I’ll high-prance down 34th street like a rodeo pony to keep my knees strong even if it does get my mother uptight…” This evidence suggests that she doesn’t not care who knows she is working hard no matter what she will try her best to get better. Another example that illustrates that squeaky is a dedicated athlete is moments before the fifty yard dash she is saying she has this dream she is as light as a feather and then she starts sikeing herself up the gain confidence which is something great athletes may do. Thus we can say that squeaky’s confidence athletic abilities make her a memorable character.

Another reason why Squeaky is a memorable character is that she is protective of her big and handicapped brother Raymond.

She claims in the beginning “ And a lot of smart mouths got lots to say too, especially when George was minding him. But now , if anyone has anything to say to Raymond about his big head, they have to come to me.” thus we can say that squeaky is protective of her brother. Before the big race Squeaky stuck Raymond in the kiddie swings because she could not watch him. So it will be safer if he stayed there because he is not normal he is handicapped. This shows that Squeaky is very protective of him. Furthermore towards the beginning Squeaky states “,and i’ve got Raymond on the inside walking on the inside close to the buildings, cause he’s subject to fits of fantasy and starts thinking he is a circus performer and that curb is a tightrope strung high in the air. This evidence suggests that squeaky is afraid if he walks on the curb he may fall then get hit by a car which very well may happen. In addition in the middle of the story Squeaky and Raymond bump into on the street one of Squeaky’s old friends who is now sometimes mean to her, there is also one of her friends with her. When they start to talk to Raymond Squeaky states if you got anything to say to him you can say it to me. This shows that no matter who there is bullying Raymond she will always stand up for

him.
The most important reason why Squeaky is a memorable character that she is a nonconformist. She is a nonconformist because in the beginning she states “And I don’t play the dozens or believe standing around with somebody in my face doing a lot of talking. I much rather knock you down and take my chances even if I am a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice…” This suggests she is a nonconformist because if you are a small girl with skinny arms you usually don’t want to get in a lot of fights. In addition when she bumps into to some girls that are sometimes mean she states “I’m ready to fight, cause like I said I don’t feature a whole lot of chit-chat, I mush prefer to just knock you down right from the jump and save everybody a whole lot of precious time.” this shows that like I said before she rather fight then talk even though she is just a small little girl.
One reason I think she is a nonconformist is a few hours before the race at the end Squeaky states “The biggest thing on the program is the maypole dancing, which I can do without, thank you, even if my mother thinks it is a shame I don’t take part and act like a girl for a change.

You’d think my mother ‘d be grateful not to make me a white organdy dress with a big satin sash and buy me new white baby doll shoes that can’t be taken out of the box till the big day” This evidence suggests that unlike the other girls she would rather run than dress up like the other girls. Later in the paragraph she states that you will think her mother will be glad that Squeaky is not prancing around acting like a fairy or flower than just being herself, this shows even more she is not like the others. In addition later on she claims“I was once a strawberry in a hansel and gretel pageant when I was in nursery school and didn’t have no better sense than to dance on tiptoe with my arms in a circle over my head... and being perfect fool just so my mother and father could come dressed up and clap. You’d think they know better than encourage that type of nonsense. I am not a strawberry. I do not dance on my toes. I run.” Thus we can say that Squeaky is a nonconformist she doesn’t like to act like other girls acting like fairies or dressing up for pageants she likes to run and train for track meets. And she will rather fight you even doe she is a small little

girl.
Thus we can say that Squeaky is a memorable character. She is a great athlete, Very protective of her brother and most importantly she is a nonconformist. I think we can all agree on that. I think she is a very memorable character, I hope you do too.