Raymond’s Run

by

Toni Cade Bambara

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Raymond’s Run makes teaching easy.
Gretchen is a new girl in Squeaky’s neighborhood who, along with her friends Mary Louise and Rosie, bullies Squeaky and her brother Raymond. Squeaky describes her as having short legs and freckles. Despite Squeaky’s anxieties about Gretchen and her sidekicks, Gretchen doesn’t seem to be as tough as she lets on: readers never see her directly harassing Squeaky or Raymond (though she stands by complicity while Mary Louise and Rosie do so), and she walks away without responding when Squeaky stands up to her. Like Squeaky, Gretchen is a runner, and she’s adamant that she’s going to beat Squeaky in the 50-yard dash at their neighborhood’s annual May Day celebration. Squeaky laughs her off, since no one ever beats Squeaky, but Gretchen holds her own in the race, keeping pace with Squeaky and coming in a close second place. After Squeaky is announced as the winner, she realizes that she actually admires Gretchen and gives her a genuine smile—and Gretchen smiles back. Squeaky even thinks that Gretchen could help her coach Raymond to become a great runner. Thus, Gretchen and Squeaky’s tentative resolution at the end of the story shows the good that can come about when people mutually respect and uplift one another rather than constantly trying to best and dominate others.

Gretchen Quotes in Raymond’s Run

The Raymond’s Run quotes below are all either spoken by Gretchen or refer to Gretchen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Caretaking Theme Icon
).
Raymond’s Run Quotes

The big kids call me Mercury cause I’m the swiftest thing in the neighborhood. Everybody knows that—except two people who know better, my father and me. He can beat me to Amsterdam Avenue with me having a two fire-hydrant headstart and him running with his hands in his pockets and whistling. But that’s private information. Cause can you imagine some thirty-five-year-old man stuffing himself into PAL shorts to race little kids? So as far as everyone’s concerned, I’m the fastest and that goes for Gretchen, too, who has put out the tale that she is going to win the first-place medal this year. Ridiculous. In the second place, she’s got short legs. In the third place, she’s got freckles. In the first place, no one can beat me and that’s all there is to it.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen, Squeaky’s Father
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

Gretchen smiles, but it’s not a smile, and I’m thinking that girls never really smile at each other because they don’t know how and don’t want to know how and there’s probably no one to teach us how, cause grown-up girls don’t know either.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen, Mary Louise, Rosie
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 26–27
Explanation and Analysis:

To the right, a blurred Gretchen, who’s got her chin jutting out as if it would win the race all by itself. And on the other side of the fence is Raymond with his arms down to his side and the palms tucked up behind him, running in his very own style, and it’s the first time I ever saw that and I almost stop to watch my brother Raymond on his first run.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:

And I look over at Gretchen wondering what the “P” stands for. And I smile. Cause she’s good, no doubt about it. Maybe she’d like to help me coach Raymond; she obviously is serious about running, as any fool can see. And she nods to congratulate me and then she smiles. And I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us. It’s about as real a smile as girls can do for each other, considering we don’t practice real smiling every day, you know, cause maybe we too busy being flowers or fairies or strawberries instead of something honest and worthy of respect…you know…like being people.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Raymond’s Run LitChart as a printable PDF.
Raymond’s Run PDF

Gretchen Quotes in Raymond’s Run

The Raymond’s Run quotes below are all either spoken by Gretchen or refer to Gretchen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Caretaking Theme Icon
).
Raymond’s Run Quotes

The big kids call me Mercury cause I’m the swiftest thing in the neighborhood. Everybody knows that—except two people who know better, my father and me. He can beat me to Amsterdam Avenue with me having a two fire-hydrant headstart and him running with his hands in his pockets and whistling. But that’s private information. Cause can you imagine some thirty-five-year-old man stuffing himself into PAL shorts to race little kids? So as far as everyone’s concerned, I’m the fastest and that goes for Gretchen, too, who has put out the tale that she is going to win the first-place medal this year. Ridiculous. In the second place, she’s got short legs. In the third place, she’s got freckles. In the first place, no one can beat me and that’s all there is to it.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen, Squeaky’s Father
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

Gretchen smiles, but it’s not a smile, and I’m thinking that girls never really smile at each other because they don’t know how and don’t want to know how and there’s probably no one to teach us how, cause grown-up girls don’t know either.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen, Mary Louise, Rosie
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 26–27
Explanation and Analysis:

To the right, a blurred Gretchen, who’s got her chin jutting out as if it would win the race all by itself. And on the other side of the fence is Raymond with his arms down to his side and the palms tucked up behind him, running in his very own style, and it’s the first time I ever saw that and I almost stop to watch my brother Raymond on his first run.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:

And I look over at Gretchen wondering what the “P” stands for. And I smile. Cause she’s good, no doubt about it. Maybe she’d like to help me coach Raymond; she obviously is serious about running, as any fool can see. And she nods to congratulate me and then she smiles. And I smile. We stand there with this big smile of respect between us. It’s about as real a smile as girls can do for each other, considering we don’t practice real smiling every day, you know, cause maybe we too busy being flowers or fairies or strawberries instead of something honest and worthy of respect…you know…like being people.

Related Characters: Squeaky (speaker), Raymond, Gretchen
Related Symbols: Running
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis: