Runner Analytical Essay
Ruth Chow
Title of the book: Runner
Essay topic: Runner shows that even though the world can be harsh and miserable, there are good people out there who make life worthwhile.
Runner, by Robert Newton, is set in the slums of Richmond 1919 and also happened to be the home of the infamous gangster, Squizzy Taylor. The novel is about a 16 year old boy named Charlie Feehan, who is trying to survive in a cruel and depressing world. Although his life is tough, kindness and love are still shown through the actions of people such as his two neighbours Mr and Mrs Redmond who care about him. Charlie lives in a time where poverty seems to affect everyone. With the support of his family, his neighbours and his best friend Norman, Charlie begins tho think that life might not be so bad after all.
Charlie’s family is going through and extremely rough time. After his father’s death from the Spanish Flu, Charlie and his family have lost their main source of income. They don’t even have enough money to buy basic necessities. They are so poor that they have to take donations of food from their neighbours in order to live. “We could stop takin’ ‘andouts and leftovers…” (p.26) In a world without government welfare, they were struggling even more to put food on the table. Even though Charlie and his family are extremely poor, the support and care they receive from their neighbours (who are just as poor as them), proves that though the world may be comfortless, there are still good people who make differences in other people’s lives.
Despite the fact that Charlie leads a challenging life, he has wonderful neighbours who look after him. Charlie is very close with his two neighbours, Mr and Mrs Redmond. In fact, he thinks of them as more than just neighbours. “...they were more like grandparents to my brother and I.” (p.1) Mr and Mrs Redmond treated Charlie very well. They even took time out of their lives in order to help Charlie train for boxing. When Charlie decides that boxing
Title of the book: Runner
Essay topic: Runner shows that even though the world can be harsh and miserable, there are good people out there who make life worthwhile.
Runner, by Robert Newton, is set in the slums of Richmond 1919 and also happened to be the home of the infamous gangster, Squizzy Taylor. The novel is about a 16 year old boy named Charlie Feehan, who is trying to survive in a cruel and depressing world. Although his life is tough, kindness and love are still shown through the actions of people such as his two neighbours Mr and Mrs Redmond who care about him. Charlie lives in a time where poverty seems to affect everyone. With the support of his family, his neighbours and his best friend Norman, Charlie begins tho think that life might not be so bad after all.
Charlie’s family is going through and extremely rough time. After his father’s death from the Spanish Flu, Charlie and his family have lost their main source of income. They don’t even have enough money to buy basic necessities. They are so poor that they have to take donations of food from their neighbours in order to live. “We could stop takin’ ‘andouts and leftovers…” (p.26) In a world without government welfare, they were struggling even more to put food on the table. Even though Charlie and his family are extremely poor, the support and care they receive from their neighbours (who are just as poor as them), proves that though the world may be comfortless, there are still good people who make differences in other people’s lives.
Despite the fact that Charlie leads a challenging life, he has wonderful neighbours who look after him. Charlie is very close with his two neighbours, Mr and Mrs Redmond. In fact, he thinks of them as more than just neighbours. “...they were more like grandparents to my brother and I.” (p.1) Mr and Mrs Redmond treated Charlie very well. They even took time out of their lives in order to help Charlie train for boxing. When Charlie decides that boxing