Raymond's Run Theme Essay

The theme of the book “Raymond’s Run” is that friendship, love, and respect are most important in life than the competition. This theme is supported by the fact that Squeaky is more focused on her delight at seeing Raymond after the race than on finding out who won. "You’d think she’d be glad her daughter ain’t out there prancing around a May Pole getting the new clothes all dirty and sweaty and trying to act like a fairy or a flower or whatever you’re supposed to be when you should be trying to be yourself, whatever that is, which is, as far as I am concerned, a poor black girl who really can’t afford to buy shoes and a new dress you only wear once a lifetime because it won’t fit next year."
The conflict of "Raymond's Run" is about how Squeaky

proves herself as a good runner and a protective sister. One quote that relates to the conflict is, "But now if anybody has anything to say to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they have to come by me." Squeaky is really protective of Raymond. Squeaky defends Raymond as her younger brother but in reality, Raymond is older than Squeaky. When she is running in the May Day races, she thinks, "it occurred to me that Raymond would make a very fine runner. Doesn’t he always keep up with me on my trots?" At the end of the story, Squeaky forgets about herself and starts to think about others. She realizes that Gretchen is actually a bad human being and that both of them could coach Raymond to become a better runner. On the other hand, Squeaky attempts to prove herself as the fastest runner. She says, "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." Squeaky won’t let anything come in her way and is determined to win the races to prove that she has the courage and spirit to do so. Squeaky doesn’t just win the race, she works hard to win.
The resolution of the story contributes to Raymond running on the other side of the fence which reminds Squeaky of her duty to her family. “All I have to do in life is mind my brother Raymond, which is enough.” This quote explains that the way she "minds" Raymond makes her closer to her brother that she has not noticed before. Having this feeling, Squeaky releases herself from her passion and gives it to Raymond. “And I look over at Gretchen wondering what the “P” stands for. And I smile. Cause she’s good, no doubt about it. Maybe she’d like to help me coach Raymond; she obviously is serious about running, as any fool can see. And she nods to congratulate me and then she smiles. And I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us. It’s about as real a smile as girls can do for each other, considering we don’t practice real smiling every day, you know, cause maybe we too busy being flowers or fairies or strawberries instead of something honest and worthy of respect . . . you know . . . like being people.” This quote reminds me that Squeaky has learned to find value in others and has realized Raymond’s talent and that fact the Gretchen is also a real person herself.
The most important part of the story is when two characters make Squeaky realize that winning is not always important.

Throughout most of the story, Squeaky has a rough relationship with others. Feeling as if they are her enemies, Squeaky feels that she must defeat them by winning races. For instance, when Gretchen is smiling Squeaky thinks in her mind, “…girls never really smile at each other because they don’t know how and don’t want to know how…” Rosie is already Squeaky’s antagonist and she makes her madder by saying, “I don’t think you’re going to win this time…” Squeaky protects her brother like a beast. When one of the girls asks him, “What grade you in now, Raymond?”, Squeaky shots back saying, ““You got anything to say to my brother, you say it to me, Mary Louise Williams of Raggedy Town, Baltimore.” Until the day of the race, Squeaky feels that she must win the race for others to stop bullying her brother and taunt her. However, when she sees Raymond, run on the other side of the fence, Squeaky realizes that Raymond actually has a talent of his own of running. Squeaky understands that Gretchen is not her rival and actually is a true friend. She makes up her mind for training Raymond as a racer with

Gretchen.
Overall, Squeaky has found a way to be herself and also get along with others. She sees Gretchen no longer as an enemy nor an ill-mannered human being. Instead Squeaky sees her as a friendly friend who doesn’t rely on winning all the time. Squeaky learns that she can grow without changing herself and not everyone is a bad person. “We stand there with this big smile of respect between us. It’s about as real a smile as girls can do for each other, considering we don’t practice real smiling every day, you know, cause maybe we too busy being flowers or fairies or strawberries instead of something honest and worthy of respect . . . you know . . . like being people.” This quote explains the relation between Squeaky and Gretchen at the end of the race.