Squeaky from “Raymond's Run” is a character who wouldn’t be considered normal by most means.She starts the story off with a rather large ego and a disdain for authority all evident by how she talked and acted. There were many things that defined her throughout the story, but they weren’t written, and for the most part had to be inferred to truly know the basis behind her. Raymond, was her one exception to her stone-cold persona. The stories unique writing style made Squeaky someone who really loved her brother over everything, even running, even if it was never stated.
Squeaky’s love of her brother really shows through him being her only constant besides running. Throughout the story Squeaky helps with her brother, but mostly does her training in regards to running so she brings him along, for
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example, when she states “I’ve got Raymond walking on the inside close to the buildings, cause he’s subject to fits of fantasy,”(pg.1) while she feigns disdain about having to deal with her brother while practicing it’s obvious she just wants him to stay safe. Now she says she’d leave Raymond if he lagged behind, but she never holds up this statement. She would never leave him even if it holds her back from reaching her much more intense training levels. The constant rhythm of Squeaky’s nature towards her brother in defending him seem trivial, but if read carefully parts such as “anything to say to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they have to come by me,’(pg.1) spark up defending her as a good sibling willing to do good things for her brother. Squeaky brings all talk about her brother straight to her, she’s a caretaker not a fighter. Squeaky at arm's length is painted as a rough immature child, but while she was arguing with Gretchen or the odd “playing the dozens” all she was really doing was trying to keep her brother out of the spotlight. Her unique expressions help alienate the reader into understanding this. Protecting Raymond is the priority, not having a round of fisticuffs with Gretchen, she isn’t afraid to choose option two to achieve her number one. Squeaky has always been able to defend Raymond from the smack talk of Gretchen and her lackies. though this simple development she begins to truly think about her brother. Squeaky’s realization of Raymond’s potential at the end of the story was one of uncovering the veil she hid from even herself.
She did things to nurture and protect Raymond in her own way. Her view when Raymond “Raymond with his arms down to his side and the palms tucked up behind him, running in his very own style,’ really set-up for her being able to bring something she loves, running, into her brother's life other than just watching her run. While the feelings were hidden Squeaky’s mannerisms in the writing gave us insight into her world and ideas.
Squeaky and her brother were the true focus of the story, not running, nor being the best. The true goal was Squeaky and her brother being happy. Squeaky would do things for her brother that you wouldn't know just taking the text at face value. The author’s word choice in each paragraph was no accident. The feelings of the character were expressed through her culture, way of speaking, personal values, and inexperience in the unconventional style that was portrayed as “Squeaky”. The author wanted to show maturity and familiar love in a story. A sibling willing to invest in another sibling is a powerful
thing.
In the book, Mattie starts out as a lazy teenager who needs to be told what to do by her over controlling mother, but throughout the story, she becomes more responsible and adult-like. For example, at the start of their adventure, Mattie leaves P...
Brother is selfish because he is not concerned about how the rigorous training is negatively affecting Doodle. “… Doodle began to look feverish, and Mama felt his forehead. At night he didn't sleep well, and sometimes he had nightmares, and I touched him and said, "Wake up, Doodle. Wake up.” Even though Brother is lucid of the fact that the training is making Doodle unwell, he continues to press Doodle to train harder. Every day, Brother makes Doodle train, even if he does not wish to. Brother is someone that Doodle always looks up to. Brother uses this to persuade Doodle that he must not be different.
Doodle’s brother personality was strict at first but as he got to know his brother better later on in the story, he finds out that he truly cares and loves his brother very much.
“They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices; and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.” (Hurst 50). This supports the claim that this is Brother’s fault, because if he were never ashamed of Doodle in the first place, he wouldn’t be given all of the extra stress running has brought his body. The narrator was very strict, and hard on Doodle because he wanted a brother that was “all there.” Brother would have been much nicer, and understanding if his decision to teach Doodle to do things like the other children was based on
Brother was embarrassed of his brother and also a little bit ashamed. He doesn’t want a sibling who can’t do all the things that his friends brothers can do, he just wants Doodle to fit in. “I was so embarrassed of having a brother that age that couldn’t walk”(2), because of this he sets out to teach Doodle how to do these things. Brother pushed Doodle, he wanted Doodle ot be able to be like the other kids when school started. Even though Brother was just trying to help Doodle, he was doing it for himself, not for Doodle. “Although he kept up, his face turned red and his yes became glazed”(Hurst 3), Brother oftentimes pushed Doodle too hard, resulting in him feeling exhausted. While sometimes pushing DOodle to get better at things was good, that was not always the case. “I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us”(5), Brother did some things out of embarrassment, shame, and sometimes love, but this time was definitely shame.”I went back and found him huddled beneath a red nightshade bush”(5), this time Brother had pushed him too hard, resulting in Doodle’s death. While most of the time Brother helped and taught Doodle out of embarrassment and shame, by the end it was just all
Robert shares a special relationship and bond with animals, in particular rabbits. The rabbits are a symbol of Rowena, not only because they were her prize possession, but also because the rabbits remind Robert of his younger sister. Both Rowena and the rabbits are characters of innocence and purity. Being considered as small, fragile and precious to those who love and look after them. Findley uses the rabbits to evoke feelings of guilt from Robert, during the constant appearances in the novel. When Rowena dies, R...
Curley has two companions: his wife (which doesn’t even like him) and his dad, which is forced to like him because Curley is his son.
...verything” (Hurst 1). The brother only cared about himself and having fun, and did not think about the affect his actions had on Doodle. The brother decides to “teach him [Doodle] to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight” (Hurst 3). Readers can begin to infer that the brother’s careless actions will later lead to serious injury or the death of Doodle.
For example, Aunt Nicey demonstrated pride by proclaiming that Doodle would live, while everybody else thought that he would die. The narrator remarks that everyone thought that Doodle would die at an early age, “everybody except Aunt Nicey” (555). In other words, Aunt Nicey had hope and had remained doubtless of Doodle living. Aunt Nicey believes that Doodle has great potential and felt proud of Doodle accomplishing the thing everyone initially believed as impossible. As for this, it displays the positive and wonderful aspect of pride. In contrast to Aunt Nicey, however,Brother’s egoistic statements introduce his narcissistic, self absorbed, and immature nature. Clenched to his conceited thoughts, Brother remarks, “I began to believe in my own infallibility and I prepared a terrific development program for him”(559). In other words, the narrator believes that because he taught Doodle to walk, he convinced himself that nothing was beyond his reach. The significance of this statement captures the section in the story where his prideful roots begin to uncover and lead to destruction and hurt by making wrongful decisions. On the other hand, with the intention to please Brother, whom he looks up to, Doodle feels honored and a sense of pride when he sees Brother gratified with his physical improvements and exploits. For this
Curley took a strong dislike upon Lennie the moment that they met, simply because Lennie was bigger than him. Curley doesn't like feeling belittled so constantly feels the need to aggresively harm anybody whom he feels threatened by and almost control them, this quote said by Candy backs this up: "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy." Another example of Curley's controlling ways is how he's ...
The second reason is because when he was a kid he wanted to smother his brother because he couldn't do anything. He wanted a brother that could go outside with him and go to the pond.
Hally states that when his mother is not around, his father makes him empty his chamberpot. This gives the audience the impression that Hally’s mother is the caregiver. The audience can therefore conclude that when the father is home, the mother takes care of his every need. Hally's father seems to be a demanding character as well as a huge responsibility for Hally’s mother. Yet, she supports him nevertheless. She is a strong woman who plays the dual role of enabler and caregiver as she runs the tearoom and looks after her husband simultaneously.
Although realizing he was in the clutches of pride and humiliation, Brother could not admit Doodle’s defeat without admitting his own. His selfish and proud nature ultimately resulted in Doodle’s death. As Brother is only 13, he places great importance on being accepted. Not only his humiliation but also his desire for conformity prompt Brother to teach Doodle to walk, climb vines, swim, and row. Brother sees himself as superior to Doodle, a common feeling for an older sibling of his age. Doodle’s condition coupled with Brother’s arrogance and pride turned legitimate feelings between siblings into a sequence of deadly circumstances. Brother recognized his pride, but was unable to break free from its grasp. Although desirable, the ability to control human emotion is difficult to obtain.
For Quoyle he feels he has to avoid car wrecks. Ironically when Quoyle gets his job at the Gammy Bird in Newfoundland he receives the assignment to report car wrecks. This is an undertaking for Quoyle because car wrecks are a reminder of what happened to Petal. “I can’t cover car wrecks. You know why. I think of what happened.” (Proulx 72). Quoyle attempts to keep her out of his conscious when reporting but she always seems to seep into his mind. In the end he resolves this avoidance by doing the reports and finding another woman who actually loves him and ends up marrying him. Bunny on the other hand is unknowingly avoiding her ancestors past by becoming the good instead of bad. The Quoyle’s are known as bad people and the people of Newfoundland didn’t like them much. Her instinct to push the teacher on behalf of Herry shows her ability to stand up for what is good and right. The story comes from Beety later in the day after it happened “Herry tries to tell her his problem she mimics him, pushes him back. Herry’s blubbering away and finely wets his pants and is humiliated. And here comes the avenging angel, Miss Bunny Quoyle, full speed ahead, and rams mean Mrs. Lumbull behind the knees.” (Proulx 301). In the end Bunny resolves her avoidance by no longer fearing the haunting of the white dog
With stereotypes in the world, the character Squeaky fights her own in the story “Raymond’s