Raymond's Run By Bamueaky Quotes

Almost everyone is teased or bullied for something. Not everyone stands to up it, though. It can have a powerful effect on life; it can tear down confidence or cause depression. However, the strongest people do not care and stand tall up to bullies--they are assertive. Confidence is hard to come by, just like strong willed people. These people can make a difference in society. One person is affected by bullies and stands strong is Squeaky, the protagonist in “Raymond’s Run”, a short story by Toni Cade Bambara. It is a about a young girl who is passionate about running and racing, as it continuously revolves around the bullying she experiences and how she stands up to it, showing her ability to stand up for herself. Just like the popular song

Even though confidence is a focus throughout, her confident words have so much meaning, they scream many things. In resemblance to; “Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones/ I’m talking loud not saying much”. Her words shower power and are laced with confidence. Her confidence leads to her reputation, her reputation leads to confidence. She shows it boldly:

“But that’s chicken and I’ve got a reputation to consider. So then I think I’ll just walk straight through them or even over them if necessary. But as they get to me, they slow down. I’m ready to fight, cause like I said I don’t feature a lot of chit-chat, I much prefer to knock you down right from the jump and save everybody a lotta precious time.” (p 30, lines 126-133)

Of course, her reputation means a lot to her and is probably what feeds her self-confidence, the theme that adds flavor to the story. And her reputation also fuels her assertive attitude, it is one of the few things she has and she cares about it. Alike Titanium, “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose/ fire away, fire away”, represents that she will do almost anything for her reputation, and she has the confidence that she is bulletproof. It can add more power to words and help solve many problem, like bullying. For

And I don’t play by the dozens or believe in standing around with someone in my face doing a lot of talking. I much rather knock you down and take my chances even if I am a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky..” (pg 26 lines 14-21)

This shows that one of the problems she faced is others bullying her older brother Raymond, who is mentally disabled, Squeaky has to take care of him. When people bully her she uses her confidence as a defense mechanism. Like Sia she preserves, “ I’m criticized but all your bullets ricochet/Shoot me down, but I get up”; the bullying does not affect her, and can make her even stronger. It shows her capability, and how confidence can be an important characteristic that leads to