Raymond's Run Essay
In the short story "Raymond's Run" by. Toni Cade Bambara, the main character is a twelve year old girl named Squeaky. Well, that's her nick name. Her real name is Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker but, as you can see that's a very long name. And as a matter of fact, she does have a squeaky voice. So, it fits perfectly. Now, there is something that you might want to know about this little girl. She has one huge ego. And I'm not joking. I believe that is the cause of the conflict in this story.
Her confidence in herself gets in the way of her ability to make friends and respect that someone else just might be better than her at something. I'm not saying that she's perfect. And she knows it too. But the thing she would probably most want you to know is that she is no prodigy. She works for what she wants. Like she says, "I'll high-prance down 34th street like a rodeo pony to keep my knees strong even if it does get my mother uptight so that she walks ahead like she's not with me." So, as you can see, Squeaky is not one to mess around. She doesn't take crap from anyone. No matter whom they are. She says she is the best and that's that.
The quality that I admire most about Squeaky is her ability to not let anyone get to her. She doesn't take anybody's crap and know how to stick up for herself. That is a lot more than I can say. She is a very good person and takes great care of her brother Raymond, Who is mentally ill. It's her job to take care of him though. She doesn't really have to do much in the family but "mind her brother."
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