Water
Water shows up repeatedly in Rabbit, Run and Updike really works it. When Rabbit first runs, he wants to go to the ocean. Here water takes on the classic meaning: rebirth. In Rabbit’s happy m...
The Mickey Mouse Club, The MagiPeel Peeler, The Used Car Lot, and Mrs. Smith's Garden
Rabbit watches the Mickey Mouse Club in hopes that MC Jimmie and his "mouseguitar" will teach him to be a better MagiPeel Peeler salesman. To Rabbit, both the Mickey Mouse Club, and the MagiPeel co...
The Sun and the Moon
In the opening lines of the Mrs. Smith’s garden chapter, the sun and the moon are used in a traditional manner, to represent natural harmony, a natural passage of time. Sounds simple enough,...
The Trap
For Rabbit, anything can symbolize a trap – a road, a map, sperm, a job, an invitation, his apartment. Sometimes the trap is symbolized by something vague he smells in the air. For the reader...
The Scale
At the end of Rabbit, Run, Rabbit decides that, because Ruth and Janice both have parents that can help her, he can absolve himself of responsibility for them. But Nelson is another matter. Nelson...