The world of John Updike's Rabbit, Run is a collection of polarities that dramatizes the in-betweeness and the constant state of tension that characterizes humanity. A cursory perusal of John Updike's Rabbit, Run reveals a world of hopeless futility in which Harry Angstrom runs in ever-tightening circles. Rabbit is always running, from one woman to another, between Brewer and Mt. Judge, between solitude and society. Rabbit is torn because he has faith in something meaningful in the world, somewhere, but he fails to find it during any of his frequent but brief stops. More important than the futile vacuity of Rabbit's world, however, is the fact that he never gives up his quest. He searches through sex, orthodox faith, and family for a sign that life is not meaningless. Rabbit conceives of that thing he wants to find as embodied in the perfectly hit golf ball whose path is straight and true, the arc gradually rising in geometric continuity, traveling far before falling gently to earth with an imperceptible thud. It is neither the nature of Rabbit's travels, nor what he discovers that is vital; it is the fact that he never gives up in his pursuit of excellence that finally confirms John Updike's affirmation of the indomitability of the human character.The structure of Rabbit, Run provides the outline of Updike's intention. The novel begins and ends with flight. Updike focuses on a Rabbit who is unhappy in his marriage to his wife Janice Springer, pregnant with their second child, alcoholic, and addicted to the balm of the Mouseketeers. Ironically, Jimmy, one of the Mouseketeers, puts things in perspective one night for Rabbit, who has returned home from his job demonstrating the MagiPeeler in five-and-dime stores. Jimmy says: "Know Thyself, a wise old Greek once said. Know Thyself . . . It means, be what you are. Don't try to be Sally or Johnny or Fred next door; be yourself". Rabbit's life with Janice offends his fastidious nature and h...
