Rabbit, Run Drugs and Alcohol Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

He [Rabbit] catches it on the short bounce with a quickness which startles them. As they stare hush he sights squinting through blue clouds of weed smoke, a suddenly dark silhouette like a smokestack against the afternoon spring sky […]. (1.1)

Weed and cigarettes both on the first page! It’s not really obvious what the novel is getting at here. This is the only time we hear about pot, but it is spoken of casually, which doesn’t necessarily meet our idea of the late 1950s. Since it’s on the very first page, should we consider it significant? What do you make of it?

Quote #2

Things start anew; Rabbit plucks the pack of cigarettes from his bobbing shirt and pocket, and without breaking his stride, cans it in somebody’s open barrel. His upper lip nibbles back from his teeth in self-pleasure. (1.10)

This might seem like a no-brainer: quit cigarettes and start a new life. Rabbit, Run explores at this seemingly simple idea rather deeply. See what happens when you trace Rabbit’s relationship with cigarettes through the novel.

Quote #3

"I thought a drink might help the pain," [says Janice].

Janice is seven-months pregnant here, and apparently has been drinking throughout her pregnancy. And no one in the book knows this is bad for the baby’s health.