The Running Man

The Running Man (Simon Jamieson)

 

Simon Jamieson or the Running Man, as Joseph refers him to is a mysterious and unnerving figure who is constantly running. Joseph compares his running to a lopsided canter, as if he were 'being pursued by some demon that only he could see' and describes the Running Man's clothes as being 'old and worn and hung about his tall, thin frame like rags on a scarecrow'. His wispy hair 'sprouted chaotically from under a crumpled short-brimmed hat' and his eyes were wild and bulging that 'shifted wildly above his sharp cheekbones'.

 

The Running Man is associated with fire as Joseph finds out later on in the novel that his family was killed in a fire and he now seems to represent this aspect as his eyes 'burn with a desperate fire', as Joseph describes at the beginning of the novel.

 

The Running Man is an enigma to Joseph as Joseph always used to see the Running Man as a figure that caused his nightmares but throughout the novel he begins to see the story behind the unnerving man and how his past experiences have caused him to end up the way he is. Many people in Joseph's town fear him in the same way Joseph does as Joseph states that many people 'eyed him with suspicion or distaste. Most avoided him. Parents drew their children quietly but firmly away' as his unnerving appearance causes others to avoid him because they are scared and don't want to try to understand the reasons for the Running Man being the way he is.