Runner Soundtrack
Jazmine Williams November 13,2012
Honors English 10 Runner Final Project
“High School Low” by Say Anything: Within the first two pages of the novel Runner, Carl Deuker gives us a description of Chance Taylor and his personality. We learn that he has no friends, does not talk in school, and does whatever to just pass. His first year of high school, he is beat up by Brent Miller. From that point on in the story, we get the feeling that Chance just wants to hurry up and finish school. “High School Low” says the same thing in so many ways. One critical lyric in the song that made me choose it for Chance is, “The best years of my life oh my god I hope not lets go”. Another part of the song that perfectly portrays Chance for me is, “Oh, these high school days/Take that away, take me away, take me away/Stress and hard duress replace the hope I had everyday/All these high school days/Take that away, take myself away.” Chance has to deal with the stress of paying the moorage fee, buying food, his dad's alcoholism, and school, all of which leads him to become a runner.
“Walk A Little Straighter” by Billy Currington: Jack Taylor, Chance's father, has been an alcoholic since he returned from the first Gulf War. Chance still cares about his father and loves him, but he could do without the drinking. He knows his dad tries, but still it disappoints him and sometimes angers him to find beer bottles on their ship from his father. “Walk A Little Straighter” by Billy Currington is a son pleading his father to quit drinking and be a better role model for him. The entire song reminds me of Chance and his father. The most influential part is the chorus and the verse after it though, “And I'd say/Walk a little straighter daddy/You're swaying side to side/You're footsteps make me dizzy/And no matter how I try/I keep tripping and stumbling/If you'd look down here you'd see/Walk a little straighter daddy/You're leading me/He stumbled in the gym/On graduation day/And I couldn't help
Honors English 10 Runner Final Project
“High School Low” by Say Anything: Within the first two pages of the novel Runner, Carl Deuker gives us a description of Chance Taylor and his personality. We learn that he has no friends, does not talk in school, and does whatever to just pass. His first year of high school, he is beat up by Brent Miller. From that point on in the story, we get the feeling that Chance just wants to hurry up and finish school. “High School Low” says the same thing in so many ways. One critical lyric in the song that made me choose it for Chance is, “The best years of my life oh my god I hope not lets go”. Another part of the song that perfectly portrays Chance for me is, “Oh, these high school days/Take that away, take me away, take me away/Stress and hard duress replace the hope I had everyday/All these high school days/Take that away, take myself away.” Chance has to deal with the stress of paying the moorage fee, buying food, his dad's alcoholism, and school, all of which leads him to become a runner.
“Walk A Little Straighter” by Billy Currington: Jack Taylor, Chance's father, has been an alcoholic since he returned from the first Gulf War. Chance still cares about his father and loves him, but he could do without the drinking. He knows his dad tries, but still it disappoints him and sometimes angers him to find beer bottles on their ship from his father. “Walk A Little Straighter” by Billy Currington is a son pleading his father to quit drinking and be a better role model for him. The entire song reminds me of Chance and his father. The most influential part is the chorus and the verse after it though, “And I'd say/Walk a little straighter daddy/You're swaying side to side/You're footsteps make me dizzy/And no matter how I try/I keep tripping and stumbling/If you'd look down here you'd see/Walk a little straighter daddy/You're leading me/He stumbled in the gym/On graduation day/And I couldn't help