English Freewrite

Short Stories "Runners to Nowhere"

Andrew Beck

Period 7 2/22/99

Mr. Luizzi

Every story whether it a short story or a full length novel deals with a main theme. The theme could be anything depending on whatever the storyline is about. There can be multiple problems during the story also. It really all comes down to the imagination and intentions of the writer. The short story "Runners to Nowhere" deals with multiple problems centered around a basic theme. The theme of the story is the power of the human spirit when confronted with dictators and others who take away freedom. This is a very popular theme shown in a variety of settings such as “Braveheart” and novels such as Chaim Potok’s novel "My Name is Asher Lev. In the case of "Braveheart" one man must rally his fleeing comrades together to emancipate his people from oppression. Asher Lev must liberate his artistic skills from his tradition-lad father. The short story tells of Jews journeying from Hitler’s dictatorship over Germany. The Jews had no place to hide, with Russia full of Stalinists and Trotskyites it was a lose-lose situation. The element of escape so often show in novels and stories is used to convey that freedom to a man is worth more than anything in the world. In "Runners to Nowhere" there are distinct problems that the protagonist must contend with while trying to retell the story. First, the character must battle with his own psyche in a person versus self problem. The character, Zeinvel Markus, is described as having “suffered from at least a dozen imaginary illnesses, among them impotence." A character such as Zeinvel brings to mind the old wisetales of a devil on one shoulder an angel on another. He is reminiscent of such characters as Melvin Bates who is a obsessive compulsive. People with such a condition are warring constantly with themselves. Every idea that floats through the brain’s transit of thought is teared apart. Decisions are also a daily struggle. Melvin uses seven bars of soap to wash his hands and only steps on certain parts of the sidewalk.