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Carl Deker's Runner Literary Analysis

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Carl Deker’s realistic fiction story, “Runner” takes place in a part of Seattle where Chance lives with his father in a sailboat. He feels ashamed of where he lives and how the people around him have a greater “step up” in life. His mom left him and his dad spends half of his time drinking. The author surrounds the character with supporting characters, conflicts, and pressures and motivations to really show the theme that sometimes you do not have a perfect life and you may be afraid, but that doesn't mean you should give up on the people that care about you, or the goals you have. There is always something worth fighting for. From the very beginning of the story, any reader can see that the character has many problems (conflicts), that …show more content…

Overall, the character is really pressured to make a living, but I also think he is pressured to not become like his father, because his father (as described in the book) goes to the bar half the time. This really gets to Chance because he wants to make money (which he does it illegally) because he is so motivated to get away from his father. Chance doesn’t want to be a drug smuggler (which that’s what Chance thinks, but it turns out he was smuggling terrorism bombs) and wants to do good in school but is pressured and motivated so much that he gives up and just takes the easy way out. The author has the character represent this to really show the main theme. In the book, it has evidence of his pressures and motivations. On pg. 85 it states, “I was a criminal, involved in a smuggling ring but the amazing thing was how quickly it became routine.” This shows how he is pressured to do this because how so badly he wants the money, and how sad this became his daily routine just because he is motivated to get away from his father. Also, he makes a phone call to the army which shows how desperate he is and that he has no other option in life because he completely gave

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