Varieties Of Protest Character Analysis
The main character in “Varieties of Protest”, struggles continuously with internal conflict because of his love for running. Smith beging to realize the two sides of running and this fuels his mental debate on running. Running allows a person to feel a sense of freedom, on the other hand, racing causes one to feel enslaved to their society.
In a sense, Smith is similar to Rosa Parks. The one quality that they both have is standing up for what they believe in. Rosa Parks hoped for equality and didn’t allow anyone to rain on her parade. She stood up to that bus driver and refused to give up her seat, protesting her rights for herself and others without violence much like Smith protesting against the governor.
Running used to allow Smith to step away from reality …show more content…
and society, blocking out the outside world giving him the chance to just think as stated, “it makes me think so good that I learn things even better than when I’m on my bed at night” (1207). For people to think is to be alive, it means that everyone is their own person. Running was a way for Smith to express himself and be his own person. Everyone has their outlet- a way to just break free for a moment- for Smith it was running, for others it might be reading, video games, or writing. Racing, for Smith, was the exact opposite feeling he got when he ran.
The pressure one feels when the entire town is counting on you to win is immense, especially when all the pressure is on one person. The town didn’t understand how difficult racing is as stated, “ The Essex boys were shouting themselves blue in the face telling me to get a move on”(1229). It’s the same with every sport. People don’t understand the difficulty of a sport until they try it themselves especially when it become competitive and there is pressure; It feels like the weight of the world is on one's shoulders. It becomes easy to get fed up with people who don’t understand that the pressure of the runner compared to the racer is immensely different.
When running, Smith is doing it for himself with his own motivation fueling him.
Racing gave the feeling that he had to win and race for the community and for himself. Once Smith came to terms with the fact that he wanted to run and not race, he was able to step away from society and be who he wanted to be. Smith didn’t want his society to determine who he was or what he wanted, he wanted to decide that for himself.
Majority of the world gives in to societies peer pressure because people are worried about how others will view them if they state their opinion. It is frowned upon when someone breaks away from the “normal”or society's standards, in this world if someone is “different” then that person is the odd ball or the minority. The governor held anger towards Smith when he didn’t win the race. Smith wasn’t free from society until he lost the race. This made Smith realize that he should make decisions based on what he wanted and running is what he wanted,not racing.
In “Varieties of Protest”, racing is an analogy for conforming to societies like majority of the world does. Running is the analogy to describe people who break away from society and want to be an individual who decides how their
lives.
In a sense, Smith is similar to Rosa Parks. The one quality that they both have is standing up for what they believe in. Rosa Parks hoped for equality and didn’t allow anyone to rain on her parade. She stood up to that bus driver and refused to give up her seat, protesting her rights for herself and others without violence much like Smith protesting against the governor.
Running used to allow Smith to step away from reality …show more content…
and society, blocking out the outside world giving him the chance to just think as stated, “it makes me think so good that I learn things even better than when I’m on my bed at night” (1207). For people to think is to be alive, it means that everyone is their own person. Running was a way for Smith to express himself and be his own person. Everyone has their outlet- a way to just break free for a moment- for Smith it was running, for others it might be reading, video games, or writing. Racing, for Smith, was the exact opposite feeling he got when he ran.
The pressure one feels when the entire town is counting on you to win is immense, especially when all the pressure is on one person. The town didn’t understand how difficult racing is as stated, “ The Essex boys were shouting themselves blue in the face telling me to get a move on”(1229). It’s the same with every sport. People don’t understand the difficulty of a sport until they try it themselves especially when it become competitive and there is pressure; It feels like the weight of the world is on one's shoulders. It becomes easy to get fed up with people who don’t understand that the pressure of the runner compared to the racer is immensely different.
When running, Smith is doing it for himself with his own motivation fueling him.
Racing gave the feeling that he had to win and race for the community and for himself. Once Smith came to terms with the fact that he wanted to run and not race, he was able to step away from society and be who he wanted to be. Smith didn’t want his society to determine who he was or what he wanted, he wanted to decide that for himself.
Majority of the world gives in to societies peer pressure because people are worried about how others will view them if they state their opinion. It is frowned upon when someone breaks away from the “normal”or society's standards, in this world if someone is “different” then that person is the odd ball or the minority. The governor held anger towards Smith when he didn’t win the race. Smith wasn’t free from society until he lost the race. This made Smith realize that he should make decisions based on what he wanted and running is what he wanted,not racing.
In “Varieties of Protest”, racing is an analogy for conforming to societies like majority of the world does. Running is the analogy to describe people who break away from society and want to be an individual who decides how their
lives.