Running has always been the highlight of my life, especially running against the police. Running is incomprehensible. I only know that I have to keep running, without asking why, running across fields and woods, and the finish line is far away. This is the loneliness of long-distance runners. ——Opening monologue
1. Outline the
bad boy Smith, who is idle and cynical all day long, haunted by the death of his father, resentful of his mother, hostile to the indifferent society, and angry at the factory owner.
His girlfriend Audrey gave him a short-lived warmth, but he had to bow to the society again on practical issues, "Why do you always run away?" The lover's question made him powerless.
He was sent to work in a juvenile reformatory for the theft of £45.
2. Escape, compromise or rebellion
. The reformatory is the representative of the traditional social order. Here, everyone has their own place, everything is arranged, and someone will supervise you to get up, work, eat... Here, because he is better at running, Smith replaces the boss Stacey's position.
The companion said, if I ran as fast as you, I would escape from here. Smith asked back, "What's the point of running away? The best way is to learn to be cunning and make them think you'll be obedient, but I don't really listen to those bastards."
Stacey was replaced because he couldn't adapt to the role, so he chose run away. Stacey is considered a loser in the traditional order, and such disheartened people are useless to the system and abandoned.
The dean urgently needs Smith to win cross-country competitions and create a historic record, so he pays special attention to Smith, and even gives him such a blueprint for the future, the great future of a track and field athlete: "The Olympics are the most beautiful crystallization of civilization, It is also the highest honor for an athlete..."
At the beginning of the competition, Smith was also inspired by "a sports star who can retire at the age of 32, drives a Jaguar, and is sought after by fans", igniting the fighting spirit and leading the way. But at the end of the run, past experiences kept flashing in Smith's mind. Father's death, working diligently for eight pounds a week, being exploited by factory owners... family indifference, mother's cheating... police contempt... girlfriend's weakness...
He recognized the truth. When the game is over, he will be abandoned as a pawn, and the society is still the same society, cold, dark, and depressing. Smith, who was in the lead by a large margin, chose to stop, smiled, and surrendered his victory to an opponent who had no chance, expressing his dissatisfaction and contempt for the old order of the old world.
3. The loneliness of long-distance runners
has been struggling in the old order, but it cannot change any facts. The future of hope is so far away, just like running is incomprehensible. out of reach.
This is the loneliness of a long-distance runner.
In Britain after World War II, its national strength declined rapidly, and the people after the war had lost their enthusiasm for patriotism during the war. When everyone found that the ideal of a better society brought about by the new order after the war became more and more unrealistic, the preaching on TV became more and more difficult. When it becomes more and more empty and comical, in pessimism and disappointment, everyone begins to doubt whether the old social order is feasible, and there are more and more bystanders, angry people, order rebels, and severe critics in society.
The younger generation is confused and angry, and is unwilling to go into factories and endure exploitation like their parents did. They wished to go out to London, but they were helpless, stuck all day long, and delighted in ridicule.
I have to say that in any society that cannot give people confidence and that beauty is out of reach, there are some people who stand on the sidelines, they mock traditional social rules, maybe they are cunning and play their own way like good children characters, but their hearts are so lost and endure the same loneliness as long-distance runners.
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