Analysis of the running man Sometimes there are hurdles in life that require great courage to overcome. We must utilize our inner strengths to motivate these courageous actions. Loren Eiseley sets an example of this in The Running Man- a chapter from his autobiography, All the Strange Hours. In this essay he reveals memories that show his lonely childhood which gives him the courage to overcome his problems. Loneliness is what ultimately sparks his courageous action later on in his life. “I remember the pacing, the endless pacing of my parents after midnight, while I lay shivering in the cold bed and tried to understand the words that passed between my mother and my father.” (Eisley, 337) This quote taken from the running man is just one example of his deep loneliness that he was faced with as a child.
Even when he was around his family he still felt lonely. Whenever he came upon a ruined farmhouse and found old papers scattered across the floor that shared his last name, he realized that a German possibly like him had lived there. He was amazed that his family hadn’t known this family. If only the family could have still lived there he would possibly have companions that were a lot like him. After years of torment by his loneliness he grasps his courage and runs.
Eiseley is always running, through his childhood and most of his adult life. He felt there was more out there for him. The life he was living was inadequate. This determination is a product of his childhood aspirations for a better life.
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The Changing Concept of Family in The Grapes of Wrath Throughout the book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the physical transition of the Joad family from a small close-knit group of people living a quiet life on a farm in Oklahoma, corresponds with the internal transition of the concept of family. As the Joads leave their farm and journey westward, they no longer live just within their own ...
This is proven by his childhood tradition of burying things and digging them up again instead of participating in childish games. Eiseley does not know why he would dig in the dirt or play with the gravel. “There was a lot of building being done then on our street. I used to spend hours turning over the gravel. Why, I wouldn’t know.” (338) As a child he embraces the rush of discovery and the thrill of adventure in his seemingly insignificant dirt pile.
He was fueled by a unknown force in his childhood to discover more in life. This gave him the courage to leave home and discover things like science and anthropology. It takes great courage for Eisley to return to his mother’s grave. In an affect this completes the circle of his life.
He starts out with his mother leaves and then returns. While visiting his mother’s grave he comes to a realization that he too will be dying soon. “I murmured to myself and tried to tell her this belatedly: Nothing, mama, nothing. Rest. You could never rest. That was your burden.
But now, sleep. Soon I will join you, … .” (336) It also takes great courage for him to face his own death. As his courage leads him to bigger tings so does it bring him back to where it all began. At a wise age he returns to his mother, placing his hand on her grave stone he finally accepts the love she tried to give him. The courage it takes to return to a state of such lonely memories can not be fathomed by those who have not felt its intensity.
There were many hurdles in life that Eisley overcame. These hurdles required great courage to overcome. His lonely childhood sparks his courageous actions, such as leaving home and discovering science and anthropology. It also took great courage for him to return to his mother and face his own death.
Bibliography Eiseley, Loren. The Running Man.
