Raymond's Run Essay

This story is called Raymond's run because it tells the story of his sister's excitement when she sees him running. Squeaky never thought about her brother as a run, she was always so focused on her abilities and skills that she failed to notice that her brother would always, “keep up with [her] on [her] trots,” and he knew how to breathe properly by observing her. At the end of the story it is not about Squeaky and how many times she has won the competition, but it is about Raymond's ability and skills to run, and his own style when he runs. Squeaky's talent is both natural and worked on. She states that, “there is no track meet that [she] don't win” and that she has been winning since she was a, “little kid in kindergarten” which proves that her ability to run fast is a natural talent. Also, she states that she was about to run down Broadway so she could, “practice breathing exercises” and this shows that she works hard to win her competitions, and that she does not rely on her natural talent. When the results of the race is announced, Squeaky is not excited about her winning as everyone was thinking, but she was excited to know that there was other things in life. When she sees Raymond running and coming to her, her values did not matter anymore. She did not care if she won or lost, she was just happy to know that she had someone whom she could teach what she knew to. She realized that she could be someone else besides a runner, a coach, a spelling bee champion, a pianist, as she stated. She just had to work hard on it and she could be whoever she wanted to. At the same moment she realizes the effort Gretchen put to that running and she smiles to her, to show her respect for Gretchen's effort. And all that realization in Squeaky's mind came from her brother Raymond's run.