Sarah Loy

9/13/01

Mr. Sullivan

English IV H

The novel, Rabbit, Run, written by John Updike during the 1950s, describes in acute detail, the life crises of the main character, Harry (Rabbit) Angstrom. I find that this book presents a scenario of a mirror in comparison to my life which I can identify with Rabbit. Rabbit is lost in his world of moral issues and and his society's opinion of justice on Earth. He is lost within his society and within himself in which this quotation describes his detachment from himself, "This childish mystery -- the mystery of 'any place,' prelude to the ultimate, 'Why am I me?' -- re-ignites panic in his heart. Coldness spreads through his body.... He feels he is behind the windows of the houses they walk by, watching this three-cornered family stroll along solidly with no sign that their universe has convulsed other than the woman's quiet tears" (p.243). I can identify with this because it is an emotion and feeling that can come over me if I just think seriously to myself the same description of Rabbit in this passage. Not knowing ones self and why s/he is here can be a scary experience because then there is a realization that anything and everything is possible and everything that you have done has been a decision that you have had to make. This feels like an experience that no one else could really touch upon, but I was surprised that Updike described this scene with Rabbit in this book. In essence, Rabbit is able to take a step back in order to look at his place in life and feel a sense of emptiness, yet not change his decision-making process for the moral reality of other people.