Smithy as a hero and Final Thoughts about Memory of Running

So, is Smithy a hero? Well, he most certainly is, in his own little (unrealistic) world. Smithy goes from a drunk 279 pound smoker to a new man in three months who has given up drinking, smoking, and lost a lot of weight, as well as picked up healthy habits such as eating bananas and drinking water (which I must tell you, is a very bad route to take: you should never drink water while eating non-citrus fruits). Smithy is patient, devoted, and has a clean heart and lives his life with an optimistic view. Smithy’s life changes, ironically, due to his drinking habit: he sees his bike while he is drunk and starts biking (drunk biking). He wakes up in the morning and decides to continue on his journey (now whether that is naive or not, I can’t say).

As many of you have probably noted by now, I have a very skeptical view towards this book. While it is meant as something which could happen, I find it highly improbable. Smithy could have died very easily during his journey four times (once by the car crash, then by the policeman beating him up while he is already in “acute” pain, then almost shot by Bill’s son, and lastly shot by the other policeman) and many more times in the war (very close, too close, once). As Darrian recently stated in one of her blog posts “Seriously, did they NOT notice that Smithy wasn’t even driving the car? Plus, all the doctors treat him like shit, and then yell at him about Carl and then send them on their way. Then the doctor threatens Smithy. She also brings an officer with her that beats Smithy up, with the intention of only scaring him, and he ends up even worse before they realize, and by realize I mean Carl has to TELL THEM, that he’d hit him with his truck and that he wasn’t the bad guy.” This just goes to show some of the most insanely boundary line that McLarty tries to pull off. But even if throw these things aside, we still have to deal with Smithy’s zen-like behaviour towards each of these events. While it is unrealistic, it is most certainly a heroic quality. So in the end, Smithy is a hero for the transformations he goes through and his clean hearted determination, but the author’s goal to picture him as a possible hero in real life, turns short. 

Sunday, November 16