“Inhale confidence, exhale doubt,” Jennifer Collins once said (www.lifecoach-directory.org.uk). This quote perfectly describes Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, who is also known as Squeaky, the main character of “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara. Throughout the story, Squeaky has to deal with the responsibility of taking care of Raymond, her brother, minding her mother, who wants her to “act like a girl for a change”, and the pressure of the upcoming May Day races. Squeaky has to win the race for herself to prove that she is still the fastest kid in her neighborhood. The story is centered around the race because she may have competition. Although her life comes across as stressful and sad, she powers through it with full confidence, bravery, …show more content…
and belief in herself. Squeaky powers through with bravery even though she may be the underdog in most situations.
Squeaky narrates and uses interior monologue to describe her sad life. At the beginning of the story, she starts thinking about her mentally challenged brother, Raymond, and how she gets into a lot of fights because people bully him. Since Squeaky gets into a lot of fights, it is sometimes clear that she is either going to win or lose the battle, depending on the situation. She manages to use her bravery to her advantage as she turns situations around when she is the underdog. Squeaky’s bravery is crystal clear in the following quote: “I much rather just knock down and take my chances even if I am a skinny girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky” (p. 26, lines 18-19). Instead of being an under confident person and taking in the bully’s nonsense, she portrays her bravery in full blast. She does not like to listen to the bully talk all day, and she would much rather take her chances by fighting. The fact that she describes herself as a skinny girl with skinny arms may suggest that she is not as strong as the bully. So, taking her chances is the smarter thing to do because if the bully is talking, then she may be able to take the bully by surprise and gain a small advantage despite her size. This adds a new layer to her personality besides her love for running and her confidence: courage. This quote perfectly portrays her courage throughout the story--how …show more content…
she stands up to people despite her size which not only shows how brave she is, but also gives charge to her pressured life. Throughout the whole story, Squeaky inhales confidence all the way through.
Even though most people under Squeaky’s circumstances would come across as under confident because of the amount of bullies she has to deal with, Squeaky wears her confidence like armor throughout the whole story. Her confidence is portrayed through narration, dialogue and interior monologue. As the author introduces Squeaky to the reader, she is thinking about how she gets into a lot of fights. She says “if things get to rough” for her, she runs. Then, she describes how fast she is. Squeaky’s confidence shines in the following quote: “And as anybody can tell you, I’m the fastest thing on two feet” (p. 26, lines 22-23). Squeaky probably is not literally the fastest two-legged thing. She is probably really fast, faster than an average human being if she used that hyperbole. Her speed is very important because Squeaky gets into fights a lot. So, in case she is really disadvantaged or outnumbered badly, she can run. In fact, even she narrates that she runs if it looks like the bully will win over her. If she is so fast, she can outrun the bully easily. Also, throughout the story, Squeaky describes how running is the most important thing to her. Not only does Squeaky inhale confidence throughout the whole story, her speed proves to be handy in a number of
ways. Squeaky uses her confidence so many times, that also she uses it to boost her confidence. After describing her own speed, she starts thinking about winning track meets. She is so confident because she believes that she is the fastest. She uses her confidence to cover up her worry. Squeaky’s confidence is portrayed in the following quote: “There is no track meet that I don’t win the first-place medal” (p. 26, lines 24-25). This also ties in to her being the fastest two-legged person. Though it proves her speed, it may also be a confidence lifter. Though she would never admit it, she might be worried about her competition in the May Day race. Gretchen, the new girl in town, is also pretty fast. For the first time, Squeaky has competition. Squeaky has amazing speed and confidence, but she also uses it to boost her confidence. Though Squeaky’s life comes across as stressful, and sad, her confidence and bravery boosts her upward through the whole story. Jennifer Collins perfectly describes Squeaky through her quote: “Inhale confidence, exhale doubt”, as Squeaky manages to turn a situation around when she is portrayed as an underdog, boost her confidence using confidence, and maintain strong. As the story unfolds, Toni Cade Bambara opens up new traits in Squeaky that do not make her a sassy character, but a complicated character. Like an orange, she may come across as sassy and mean on the outside (skin), but underneath she is confident and brave (fruit). Squeaky exhales any doubt she has and never goes downwards, but instead, reaches to the moon.
One of the conflicts she faces in the beginning of the story is when she gets sick. This is an example of an internal conflict. She stays sleeping and does not try to get up. Later she is better and can go back to her normal self. This can show bravery by her not just giving up and not try to get better. After this she gets up and has tea. Another conflict she faces is when Zachariah gives Charlotte a dirk (Knife). She refuses it at first but then
Courage is an attribute that someone has when they stand up for what they believe in. In the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, Cassie shows some acts of courage. Cassie faces some challenges and she handles them in different ways. Cassie shows courage by standing up for Little Man, volunteering to be splashed by the bus for revenge, and standing up to Lillian Jean. I think that she did the right thing when she stood up for Little Man. She was trying to make things right.
From all of these, she learns to look at the individuality of the others. For Scouts, courage is most often something with physical activity and involves personal danger. It is very difficult for Scouts to see that greater courage is often required in other places of life. Scout learns that the greatest courage can be found in a situation where a person knows that he is going to lose and still continues to fight. To prove this, Miss Lee first had Scout observe her father perform a physical act of courage when he shoots the charging mad dog.
...he shows us her character, not by how she gives herself respect, but by the continued respect that she gives to others: even her tormenters. Her secret shame was kept inside, and it was an impossible burden to bear. She was brave.
She’s just so weak. If she would stand up for herself, no one would bother her. It’s her own fault that people pick on her, she needs to toughen up. “Shape of a Girl” by Joan MacLeod, introduces us to a group of girls trying to “fit in” in their own culture, “school.” This story goes into detail about what girls will do to feel accepted and powerful, and the way they deal with everyday occurrences in their “world.” Most of the story is through the eyes of one particular character, we learn about her inner struggles and how she deals with her own morals. This story uses verisimilitude, and irony to help us understand the strife of children just wanting to fit in and feel normal in schools today.
Courage is an act of sacrifice that allows you to face danger without showing fear. A time he showed courage was when he threw the first punch at the rumble between the Greasers and Socs. He threw the first punch for pride, he threw it for loyalty, but he was courageous while doing so. As Ponyboy stated on page 142, "... He was ashamed to be on our side..." It took a lot of courage to throw the first punch being on a side you were ashamed of being on. He was ashamed because the person he punched was what he could've been and that crushed Darry. It would take a lot of courage to look after two adolescent boys while they are growing up. Darry could've gone to college, become a national football player and have a better life than what he had. Darry instead sacrificed that to keep his brothers together after the death of their parents. If Sodapop and Ponyboy could stay together, Darry would've gone to college. Darry was incredibly courageous to give that up for his brothers.
The tone in this quote contributes to the story because it supports the idea of not being afraid and moving on. It sets the mood for the readers, making it more interesting to them. According to Divergent, “It’s not about being fearless. It’s about acting in spite
The fourteen-year-old girl is a round and dynamic character with great depth. The round characteristics are seen within her broad and complex emotions. She has developed an aggressive temperament in response to abuse from her Apa and teasing from her sisters who call her “bull hands”, laughing at her masculine features. This temperament has led her to state: ”I began keeping a piece of jagged brick in my sock to bash my sisters or anyone who called me bull hands.” (Bausch) Her temper...
Scout is courageous throughout the book, she was a tomboy from the beginning and is willing to fight against any boy or adult who questions her . While much conflict and absurdity was occurring around the trail, Scout had to be courageous and brave. Some of her bravery comes from having the negativity of being a child during a time of segregation amongst different races. People in the town of Maycomb would give the whole Finch family a hard time, just because Atticus was defending a black man. Scout would get hurtful comments said to her about her father, and was even attacked by Mr. Ewell, who tried to kill her, and her brother Jem.
One reason I think the theme of the story is courage is because both Annie and Clover are brave. For example, Annie and Clover sat on the fence after both of there mom’s told them not to go on the other side. Also, another reason they are brave is because they asked Sandra if they could jump rope with her and her friends. I know that they are brave because they worked up enough courage
While showing how brave and unselfish she was, she also showed that she was fragile and not as strong as she used to be. “A black dog with a lolling tongue came up out of the weeds by the ditch. She was meditating, and not ready, and when he came at her she only hit him a little with her cane. Over she went in the ditch, like a little puff of milkweed.” Even though she hit the dog only a little, it caused her to fall into a ditch. At last there came a flicker and then a flame of comprehension across her face, and she spoke. "My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip." This shows how her mind went blank, causing her to forget why she had made the journey.
Strength is an important part of courageous because when somebody is put down you can help them get up and this can have an impact in people’s lives. The International Women of Courage Awards is an award show that these women across the world that made a difference come and gets rewarded for it. These women had changed the world and had a huge impact on society. Michelle Obama states “with every life they touch and every spirit they raise, women are creating ripples that stretch across the globe”. I stated this because these women have the strength to stand up for others and help
Scout believes at the beginning of the book that courage is all to do with physical feats like fist fighting. Scout and Jem though Atticus was courageous when he shot the mad dog, but Atticus just shrugged it off telling his children that that is not ?real courage?. The children soon see that moral courage is more valuable after Miss Dubose said "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for!" Chapter 11, Page 113 after they walked past her house. On the way back Atticus just walked by and told Mrs. Dubose, ?you look as pretty as a picture? Mrs. Dubose was so stunned that she could not say a word back to him. Later Jem and scout leaned how courageous Mrs. Dubose really was after Jem cut up her camellia bushes, the kids found out that she was a morphine attic brave enough to get off the drug that killed her.
Most students have to be courageous when they’r stand up for another student that are being mistreated. In Mildred Taylor's book, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Stacey has to show courage when faced with discrimination because of his race. Stacey had to show courage when he was making a plan for the bus, and when he was standing up for T.J..
“Life isn’t fair,” Linda Sue Park said in a Ted Talk. “We all need all the practice we can get at facing life’s unfairness with both grace and grit” (“Can A Children's Book Change the World? | Linda Sue Park | TEDxBeaconStreet.”). Pacy Lin is a perfect example of someone who accomplishes this and more in the novel The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Throughout the story, seven-year-old Pacy experiences racism, friendship, failure, hope, and more. Though the novel is written about and through the perspective of a 2nd grade student, the way in which she handles her struggles can help readers of all ages and backgrounds. This captivating book has the possibility to light a spark in the hearts of even more readers that it already