"Rabbit Run"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines "Rabbit Run", a powerful novel by John Updike published in 1960, based on one of the characters, Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, a 26-year-old former high school basketball star. In particular, the paper looks at how the historical approach of the story is increasingly evident as the plot reveals the consequences of the post-war family's independence from the church and the assumption of the nuclear mantle. Updike shows us the contemptuous and paradoxical behavior of people of the era, who, by their actions, revel in the freedom that they have gained with the demise of social structures, and yet bemoan the fact that they have lost their way and are disillusioned and directionless. It demonstrates how this concept is best summed up by Updike's creation of a man who tries to justify his concern for clean clothes and, simultaneously, is responsible for destroying his wife and children.

From the Paper:

"The character of Angstrom is indirectly autobiographical in that by calculation, his age and the author's age would approximately tally. This instantly allows the reader to understand the historic perspective of the novel as we are given the opportunity to trace the social changes that have occurred since the 30's down to the day of the novel. The social climate of the thirties was significantly different from the fifties, and sixties. The immense and drastic changes that came about in social standards after the Second World War meant that there lay a greatly urgent need for consolidation of moral values. Creators of the system turned to eco-political means by which they could bring about this consolidation. As a result of this, the average person in the U.S. was subjected to a newer, (imagined) improved lifestyle based on economic success and superficiality."

More papers on "Rabbit Run":

• Book Review # 55024 : "Rabbit, Run"
• Analytical Essay # 18808 : " John Updike "Rabbit Run"
• Analytical Essay # 22323 : "John Updike, "Rabbit Run"

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