Monday, January 5, 2015

What is Squeaky actually thinking about when she jumps up and down after they announce the winner in Raymond's Run by Toni Cade Bambara?

I think that Squeaky is thinking about three specific things while she is jumping up and down after the announcement of the winner.  
1.  She's thinking about how good it feels to win.  Squeaky claims that it doesn't matter to her if she won, lost, or tied, but she's a competitive athlete.  A small part of her brain is definitely processing the announcement that she won, and she is definitely happy about it.  I've never met a competitive athlete that's happy about a loss.  
2.  She's thinking about how excited she is to have found a friend and running comrade.  Squeaky is surprised to see how seriously Gretchen takes running, and Squeaky is pleased to see that Gretchen also knows what she is doing.  Squeaky finally sees the possibility for her to be good friends with another girl.  

And I look over at Gretchen wondering what the “P” stands for. And I smile. Cause she’s good, no doubt about it. Maybe she’d like to help me coach Raymond; she obviously is serious about running, as any fool can see. And she nods to congratulate me and then she smiles. And I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us.

3.  Squeaky's thinking about how proud she is of her brother's running ability.  She's also thinking about how excited she is to possibly begin training Raymond to be an even better runner.  This is the main reason that she is jumping up and down.  

And by the time he comes over I’m jumping up and down so glad to see him—my brother Raymond, a great runner in the family tradition.

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