Eighty Yard Run by Irwin Shaw - Essay Example

Eighty Yard Run by Irwin Shaw “Eighty Yard Run” by Irwin Shaw is a story about Christian Darling who is recollecting his age old memory of college days when he was famous foot ball player. The story is about a man who lost his past glory as a foot ball player who could not adjust to the changing ways of society and relationships. Darling is a tragic character and is living in his past memory of school days. Then he was adored by everybody; teammates, peers and coach. He had fame, name, talent, and a girlfriend who was rich and clever. He was a famous football player, all desired his company and was admired by all. But one day after marriage he becomes an ordinary man and no longer was a “super hero”. The story has many attributes which make it a harmonious story. The events in the story are connected well and it has social and emotional conflict. The story is a flash back and depicts the transformation of a man from youth to adulthood. The protagonist’s approach to life is the main centre of focus of the story .The struggle a person goes through as his social status changes is shown in the story. The author wants to explain that there is a tragedy between two people who were once deeply in love. The story opens with the daring foot ball player Christian Darling and progress to explain his moments of triumphs and tragedy in detail. In this story there is social conflict, internal and psychological conflict of distress, frustration and sorrow. Darling cannot deal with his present life where there is financial insecurity, poverty and lack of fame. Darling is a tragic character that always set him in contradiction. He proves that he is not a super hero of yester years but just an ordinary man who cannot handle pressures of life. The whole story reflects continuous changes in life. The immature ways of a person is reflected more vividly when he is encountered with troubles and this we can see precisely from Darling’s attitude towards life. His is living in past and forgets his duties in present life. The immature ways of one person can destroy a relationship and the author wants to show that life is not same always. The negativity in the life of Darling is discussed throughout the story. He is always responding arrogantly to his wife who loves him deeply. “I have nothing else to do.” He was always negative in his answers. “I don’t want to walk along the river,” “I don’t want to walk along Fifth Avenue.” “I don’t want to go to any art galleries.”“I don’t think I like you to associate with all those people…” “I don’t feel like going down to Fourteenth Street.” The story conflicts the usually accepted values of athletic and business success. The story reminds us that more than values a person’s capacity to adapt to situation is essential for success. Through this story, the author wants to project the boom times of 1920s where American was in his prime time. Then later the country plunge in to depression just as the life of Darling steps down from success to failure. The story is narrated in a circular fashion as it is beginning and ending at the same spot. The main theme in the story is the protagonist inability to grow and mature. He is trapped in the circle of arrested development while his wife grows to a successful woman. Darling is entrapped in ego and sense satisfaction and makes no provision for his future life. The stagnation of Darling is contrasted by the growth of his wife Louise. The story has both a circular motion and a crossing X pattern. This means the two characters are sliding positions. One is falling from top to bottom while another is rising from bottom to top. The two principal characters are exchanging positions. Darling becomes a superficial man but his wife turns out to be the man of the house by earning livelihood. So the author is telling two stories one of failure and another of success. The author wants to tell us that human beings are unpredictable. They have masks and can change at any moment. The true self of a person is obvious only at bad time of life like Darling who proves to be failure and an unsuccessful husband. The uncertainty of life is what the story is trying to tell the readers. The Character of Christian Darling in the story is too slow culturally, politically, mentally and adaptably. The story is an image of life and the characters moving through their particular experience show some meaning to the readers. The Darling in the story who is looking back does not contribute anything for his future life. The author gives us a glimpse of how people react to different situation in life. The story tells us that winning a game does not make a person a hero but he has to battle the fight of life. A person who is a day dreamer cannot achieve anything in life .One has to understand life is a game which can be won by struggle, determination, courage and sacrifice. Darling seems to be a person who embraces only one aspect of life that is happiness. He is immature and things that life is all about pleasures. At young age, people have an assumption that all what they have seen is what life is. The person Darling is still living in his young age and fails to understand that life has moved and he need to change his attitude and fit in his situation as it is. It is a fact that some people just grow by body but not by mind. People have a notion that those who are champions in sports are super humans. But this story shows that this is not always true. Darling in the story portrays to be a man who is a stunted athlete who never grows up while his wife shows to be a mature woman. The characters in the story are not boring even though they are predictable. The two characters do represent some idea and Shaw is using these ideas to depict his theme. The character that crossed eighty yard in running could not cross his life successfully. Darling never understood life in its serious sense probably because he was almost supported and sheltered by his wife. He thought life is always about luxury and attention and could not adjust with hard times in life. His wife being an understanding and loving tried her best to save their marriage but it did not continue for long. The author is trying to show case the contrast in the characters of the story and how love marriages can turn sour if partners are not understanding and mature. Darling realizes only later in life that everything in life cannot be handed over in a silver platter. He slowly identifies that he is not as good as he thinks. He understood that the foot ball is not a career which can give happiness for whole life time. He understands that as long as one is good at his game he will be remembered and playing a life is a more challenging than football. Football was the only thing Darling knew and only thing he loved. The story has many ideas like immaturity, infidelity, sacrifice, fame, love, hardship and failure which the author portrays through his characters. Read More