Stephen King, The Running Man
Stephen,King, The Running Man, United States: Signet 1982
English Journal 1
Pg. 1-64
At the beginning of the novel it takes us through the daily routine of Ben Richards. It shows just how bleak his life is and begins to show us the divide between the rich and the poor. Richards explains that "every development had"(1) a free-vee and that "it was the law"(1) which shows that the games network is almost forcing their own idea of acceptable which is forcing their society to adapt to it. It explains the troubles that Richards is facing and becomes clear that there is no help for him. This helps to develop the theme that society is largely divided and not only by rich and poor but also by black and white. He develops his theme by showing Richards point of view which gives us some insight on why society is so largely divided. Richards is showing watching a television show which is called "Treadmill to Bucks" which is a game where people with lung diseases must run on a treadmill. As it explains in the book "they accept only chronic heart, liver, or lung patients"(2). This concludes the point that in King's version of the future the rich become richer and the poor only become ridiculed and must work for their money. King develops his theme by using Richards humor and sarcastic remarks towards the games company workers such as when he tells the nurse "Take a shower, kid. You done good."(32). This shows his distaste for the society they live in and how the games company controls everything. Richards meets a man named Jimmy Laughlin and begins to realize that it is not only him facing these problems and starts to see that there are plenty of people going through the daily struggle of life. Richards relates with this man because they are both lower class people fighting for their lives which once again relates back to the divide in society. As they introduce the Running Man to Richards I began to realize that this game show takes lower class people who need the money
English Journal 1
Pg. 1-64
At the beginning of the novel it takes us through the daily routine of Ben Richards. It shows just how bleak his life is and begins to show us the divide between the rich and the poor. Richards explains that "every development had"(1) a free-vee and that "it was the law"(1) which shows that the games network is almost forcing their own idea of acceptable which is forcing their society to adapt to it. It explains the troubles that Richards is facing and becomes clear that there is no help for him. This helps to develop the theme that society is largely divided and not only by rich and poor but also by black and white. He develops his theme by showing Richards point of view which gives us some insight on why society is so largely divided. Richards is showing watching a television show which is called "Treadmill to Bucks" which is a game where people with lung diseases must run on a treadmill. As it explains in the book "they accept only chronic heart, liver, or lung patients"(2). This concludes the point that in King's version of the future the rich become richer and the poor only become ridiculed and must work for their money. King develops his theme by using Richards humor and sarcastic remarks towards the games company workers such as when he tells the nurse "Take a shower, kid. You done good."(32). This shows his distaste for the society they live in and how the games company controls everything. Richards meets a man named Jimmy Laughlin and begins to realize that it is not only him facing these problems and starts to see that there are plenty of people going through the daily struggle of life. Richards relates with this man because they are both lower class people fighting for their lives which once again relates back to the divide in society. As they introduce the Running Man to Richards I began to realize that this game show takes lower class people who need the money