In The Memory of Running, Smithy comes off as the least hero-y hero there is. And at the start of reading this, I had no idea how Smithy would fit into the hero mold. The thing that really bothered me the most (at first) was how passive he was ALL the time. Sometimes while reading, I’d just want to yell at the people he interacted with because of how much they misunderstood him or mistreated him. I thought of this while writing my essay, where I realized that what made Smithy into a hero was his passivity. And this passivity is what set him apart from all the other hero’s we know of.
Something I found really interesting was that there is almost no way that Smithy would’ve met all the different kinds of people he did and heard all of his stories if he’d been any more aggressive. He managed to connect with people on a different level, and learn about their pains and suffering, all because of one thing. He listened.
My favorite part was when he met the old artist lady in Washington Park in New York. First of all, she (what seemed to me like a rude thing to say) addressed Smithy as “fat boy.” Even on Smithy’s behalf, I immediately felt offended. You don’t just call a stranger by the name of “fat boy.” But Smithy didn’t seem to mind, and even complimented her work immediately after she said that. She then tells him the heartbreaking and captivating stories about her life, and he gets to learn so much about a stranger in New York. I also noticed that in the majority of their interaction, even though Smithy is the main character and is narrating the entire novel, the dialogue is almost entirely from the artist.
Now I’m not sure if this is just something this lady does all the time, but Smithy seems to have this quality about him that makes people open up to him in the most intimate ways possible. This is seen in almost every single meaningful interaction he has in the novel. And that’s something I’m truly impressed by. He gets to learn about the dark secrets in these people's lives, and he learns that it’s not just his life that has its complications.
Hey Hailan! My essay actually also touched on the point about how Smithy did not come off as a hero in the beginning. It almost seems crazy that his character was able to transform into a hero. He was a little to passive for my liking also, but that seemed to work out find for him in the end. Though it would've been nice to see him stand up and speak up for himself. But being passive, he does get to hear stories about people and I think that was really important. Listening probably helped him think about the lives of others and get his mind off his own in the moment. Still I feel like he could've found a better balance between passive and aggressive, and still accomplish everything he had.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the book, I too wasn’t really sure how Smithy would become a hero, but like you said, it’s his passivity that makes him one. However, I do think that the willingness Smithy has to help others also makes him the hero he is, and in a way, his passivity and willingness to help kind of go hand in hand. It was also very interesting to see how Smithy was able to get all these people to open up to him, especially since he doesn’t have the best social skills.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Hailan! I also struggled a lot with seeing Smithy as a hero, and his passivity was extremely frustrating to me as well. Your post did a great job of showing us how Smithy's passivity is actually what makes him into a hero. This is very interesting because oftentimes our society sees passivity as a weakness or flaw. Especially these days, everyone seems to like and respect people with active leadership qualities. But at the same time, Smithy's passivity is not necessarily just a passivity out of shyness or "weakness". As you explained, Smithy's passivity seems to actually open people up to him. Perhaps this is because his passivity is paired with or fueled by his selflessness and kindness toward strangers. Whatever the case may be, I agree that Smithy's passivity is what characterizes him as a hero in this novel.
ReplyDeleteGreat argument! I also wasn't always pleased with Smithy's passivity, and was waiting for him to kind of step up and fill the role of hero as he transformed throughout the book. However, he really didn't change in his passivity, and as I finished the book, I realized that's okay because as you said, he met so many amazing (if offensive) people throughout his journey he might not have met if he'd had a more dominating personality. I also wanted to yell sometimes, but not at the people Smithy met, at Smithy. I wanted him to have enough self-respect to tell people they were wrong about him when they made assumptions. But in the end, it really didn't matter because the people who didn't see Smithy as a hero, or even a decent person, weren't actually important. In the end, my wanting Smithy to stand up for himself was childish, and he handled it well seeing as how he underwent a huge transformation, and they are probably still the same boring old people who didn't think much of Smithy to start with. So ha! Smithy wins.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a fascinating point you bring up - that passivity is a trait which in Smithy evokes a sense of heroism. In the context of our main character appearing as a non-hero in pretty much every respect, there is something potent in the idea that being a good listener - connecting with people in a way he hasn't connected with people before - transforms him. Smithy's transformation begins to affect people. It affects the people he listens to, and the people he therefore helps.
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