Varieties Of Protest Character Analysis

The main character in “Varieties of Protest”, struggles continuously with internal conflict because of his love for running. Smith beging to realize the two sides of running and this fuels his mental debate on running. Running allows a person to feel a sense of freedom, on the other hand, racing causes one to feel enslaved to their society.

In a sense, Smith is similar to Rosa Parks. The one quality that they both have is standing up for what they believe in. Rosa Parks hoped for equality and didn’t allow anyone to rain on her parade. She stood up to that bus driver and refused to give up her seat, protesting her rights for herself and others without violence much like Smith protesting against the governor.

Running used to allow Smith to step away from reality
Racing gave the feeling that he had to win and race for the community and for himself. Once Smith came to terms with the fact that he wanted to run and not race, he was able to step away from society and be who he wanted to be. Smith didn’t want his society to determine who he was or what he wanted, he wanted to decide that for himself.

Majority of the world gives in to societies peer pressure because people are worried about how others will view them if they state their opinion. It is frowned upon when someone breaks away from the “normal”or society's standards, in this world if someone is “different” then that person is the odd ball or the minority. The governor held anger towards Smith when he didn’t win the race. Smith wasn’t free from society until he lost the race. This made Smith realize that he should make decisions based on what he wanted and running is what he wanted,not racing.

In “Varieties of Protest”, racing is an analogy for conforming to societies like majority of the world does. Running is the analogy to describe people who break away from society and want to be an individual who decides how their