Character Analysis in Alan Sillitoes The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner - Essay Example

Smith: Character Analysis. Alan Sillitoe’s “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner” is the poignant tale of a seventeen year old adolescent, Smith, and his time at Borstal, or remand school for youthful offenders. Smith is inured to a life of petty crime and has been arrested for burgling a bakery. His long-distance running skills bring him to the notice of the institution’s governor, who sees in Smith the opportunity for a public relations coup. Smith is given the chance of an early release from the Borstal if he wins the All England cup for long-distance running in a prestigious race. Instead of accepting this offer, Smith chooses to face the consequences of failure, and deliberately passes up his chance of winning the race. He serves the reminder of his time at the Borstal in hard labor and returns to his life of crime after his release. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner” ends on a note of ambiguity as to the ultimate well-being of Smith. Smith’s decision not to submit to the rules of the establishment lets him assert his independence and personal integrity, but his ultimate happiness is uncertain as he cannot be completely free of society. Smith affirms his independence and personal integrity by refusing to win the race. He is aware of the significance of the ‘Borstal Blue Ribbon Cup for Long-Distance Running,’ and of the prestige his winning of the cup will confer on the institution. He enjoys his sport and admits that “It’s a treat, being a long distance runner” (Sillitoe 10). However, he makes a deliberate choice to lose the race. This is Smith’s way of showing that he will live life on his own terms, and his refusal to conform to the expectation of the establishment. The fact that the Governor sees him as “his prize race-horse” rankles Smith, and bolsters his determination to “lose that race because I’m not a race-horse at all” (Sillitoe 12). Losing the race is symbolic of Smith’s struggle to assert his identity, to maintain his independence, and to reject the dictates of a society whose rules he refuses to live by. This stubbornly independent streak is the backbone of Smith’s personality. It is the characteristic which defines his attitude towards life. It is important to Smith that he retains control over the direction of his life: “You should think about nobody and go your own way, not on a course marked out for you” by others (Sillitoe 39). Smith confounds the Governor’s hope of winning the cup. This is his triumph over society. At the same time, the pleurisy he contacts as a result of his running enables him to evade being drafted into the army. This is second triumph, as he equates the Borstal with the army and its “high walls” (Sillitoe 11). In this context, it is undeniable that Smith has “won my own race twice over” (Sillitoe 48). Smith also asserts his personal honesty by losing the race. Smith emphatically conveys the message that he lives by a code of ethics which is completely divergent from that laid down by society. He realizes that normal societal expectations are “something that can’t be true about me, being born and brought up the way I was” (Sillitoe 14). He is determined to be true to himself. Society, as represented by the Borstal Governor, urges him to “win the race and be honest” (Sillitoe 40). In Smith’s reckoning, “winning means running right into their white-gloved wall-barred hands” (Sillitoe 40). By losing the race, Smith is honest to his own principles and his repudiation of the establishment’s rules. Losing the race is also Smith’s form of vengeance against society. He loses the race because “I only want a bit of my own back” (Sillitoe 40). Smith triumphs over the establishment by refusing to submit to its demands. However, Smith’s triumph is not an indication of his ultimate happiness and freedom. Smith is an outsider, who has no stake in the interests of the law-abiding majority of society. He unequivocally declares his opposition to society and his perception of the establishment as his adversary saying, “It’s war between me and them” (Sillitoe 15). Although Smith confidently declares, “I’ll win in the end,” his victory is by no means assured (Sillitoe 12). When he openly declares this enmity and says, “that’s how it stands and that’s how it will always stand,” it is clear that his resentment is a cancer that is eating away at his insides (Sillitoe 7). Smith will never be totally free from society’s rules. He is aware that he will have to be eternally vigilant as he goes about his anti-social life: “I know every minute of my life that a big boot is always likely to smash” his world (Sillitoe 16). He is prepared to live the rest of his life threatened by the knife which society holds to his throat – “That knife is Borstal, the clink, the rope” (Sillitoe 15). Even his dream of winning races is punctuated with visions of being shot down by policemen. Smith leaves the Borstal and defiantly reverts to his life of crime. For all his bravado, his confession, “I’ve had no time and peace in all my bandit life” (Sillitoe 41) is a poignant admission of defeat. Smith remains unrepentant and proudly defiant until the end of the story. However, the very fact that his friend has published his tale indicates that Smith does “get captured again by the coppers” (Sillitoe 48). For all his repeated struggles to overthrow the yoke of society, Smith is unable to be completely free and happy. Smith, the protagonist of “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,” triumphs over the establishment by losing the race. This symbolic victory demonstrates Smith’s fierce independence and his adherence to his personal code of honesty. Smith shows the establishment that he cannot be forced to submit to its rules and will adhere to his own integrity. However, it is evident that Smith cannot actualize his dream that “I’m a long distance runner crossing country all on my own” (Sillitoe 46). The tragedy of Smith’s life is that he cannot live in isolation. Whether he likes it or not, Smith is a part of the larger society which he makes his undying adversary. While the reader cannot but admire Smith’s indomitable spirit, his ultimate freedom and happiness are in doubt. At the end of the story, Smith appears to be headed towards a vicious circle of temporary freedom, incarceration and punishment. Smith’s incorrigible personality is both a triumph of the human spirit and a recipe for disaster. Works Cited Sillitoe, Alan. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.” Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Web. This is the link to my copy of the story. Kindly replace the page numbers I have used for the in-text citations with the corresponding numbers from your text. https://is.muni.cz/www/39866/Silliote_Alan_-_The_Loneliness_of_the_Long_Distance_Runner_p.7-48.pdf Read More