|Studying The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner|
This study guide is meant to support students in England and Wales preparing for GCSE exams in English and English literature. It may also be helpful to the general reader who is interested in the stories of Alan Sillitoe. If the guide is used as preparation for a written exam, then all the activities suggested here may be done in writing or orally, as students and teachers wish. Some of the activities here can be used also for assessment in speaking and listening, in original writing and in wider reading.
If you are a teacher, look for the many prompts for activities. Most can be done in speech or writing or using Internet technologies. If you are using this guide on a computer system, then you ought to open the application software you think most helpful for various tasks, as you see the need for it.
Use the links below to purchase The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
What happens in the story?
The first part of this long story contains little in the way of conventional narrative: it is more in the nature of a manifesto. We learn that Smith, the narrator, is in borstal, but we must wait until we reach Part Two to discover why he is there.
This section draws up the lines of battle. Smith elaborates his theory of them and us, otherwise characterised as the In-laws (the law-abiding property-owning majority) and the Out-laws (the substantial minority who have no stake in this system). The In-laws are principally embodied in the person of the borstal governor, who is not so much a three-dimensional character as a representative type. The archetypal Out-law is Smith, the narrator.
Smith views life as a battle of wits, in which he confronts the forces of the establishment. His aim is to frustrate their efforts to make him conform, and thereby to assert his integrity. Smith's one great talent - his ability in running - is both a symbol for this struggle as it persists throughout his life, and also the means by which he hopes to disappoint and deceive the governor. By training hard and appearing eager to win the Blue Ribbon Prize Cup (as he can do if he wishes) he causes the governor to anticipate the credit this will reflect on his pretended humane outlook. In fact it is because he runs alone, that Smith (so he tells us) has learned to think clearly enough to devise this strategy. To win the race would be to accept the values and outlook of the governor and all his kind. To lose the race may seem to be cutting off his nose to spite his face, but is the only way Smith can retain his independence, and know he has retained it.
Smith constantly refers in this section to the way the governor thinks of him as like a race-horse. He suggests that the achievements of such a thoroughbred are determined by, and earn glory for, others: for the trainer, rider and owner. Just so, Smith is trained for a competitive race, and valued for the prestige his expected victory will win for the governor and the enlightened regime in his borstal.
Smith's pessimism is declared on the first page of the story - not that them and us don't see eye to eye, but that that's how it stands and how it will always stand. (The pessimism is not in his sense of two classes, but his belief that this can never change.) Later Smith comments on his and the governor's cunning, observing that his is the more devious, as he sees through the governor, while the governor's does not see through Smith's intentions.
He passes next to the discussion of honesty: the governor has told him to be honest, but he protests that he is more honest than the governor. The governor is talking of honesty as respect for others' property (renouncing theft - not stealing things). Smith takes honesty to mean being true to one's principles, personal integrity. The intelligent reader will see that most educated speakers of English use the word in both senses without confusion. The suggestion that only one meaning of honest can be valid (with the further implication that Smith's is the right interpretation) is not very reasonable.
At the end of this section the running metaphor becomes explicit as Smith thinks every run to be like a little life. He ends with a pessimistic statement of how, sooner or later, one is always tripped up. This leads naturally into the second section with its account of the events that have led to Smith's being in the borstal.
Part Two is more conventional narrative. It is in the past tense and the first grammatical person, and deals with a simple series of events: the death of Smith's father and the spending spree provided by insurance and benefits, leading to the robbery of the bakery and the arrest of Smith.
In this narrative we note some characteristic attitudes:
Conveniently, this character is stupid, bullying and authoritarian. That this officer is truly stupid (rather than merely being thought stupid by Smith) is made clear in two places.
We note also that the policeman (as does the borstal governor) says we instead of I, unconsciously identifying himself with the oppressive majority whom he represents. Smith dreams of a revolution, as in Hungary, in which the policemen will have the tables turned on them. The police are especially despised because they originate from the working class (the one in this story clearly does) yet they sustain the ruling classes in power - thus they are seen as treacherous and unnatural. Those in power are merely selfish; those who keep them in power have betrayed their own kind.
Part three has a more sophisticated narrative method. It is principally an account of the race, but even in this Sillitoe switches from the use of the past to the use of the present tense (and back) to give certain passages greater immediacy. Worked into this is a more detailed account of the death of Smith's father (briefly related in Part Two).
We see how Smith confronts temptation as the Governor shows him the prospect of material wealth and social status that his running can give him. Like Jesus in the gospels he undergoes a long period of privation, after which the tempter invites him to use his unique powers, against the dictates of conscience, for worldly gain. This is more a parody of, than a parallel to, the gospel story: what Smith is offered is really not much and he easily rejects the temptation, though he pretends to be eager to win the race. Although Smith has earlier vilified the police he now, somewhat contradictorily, shows respect for the policeman's honesty (in being spiteful to Smith's mother) in not pretending to bogus sympathy, as the governor does. Smith also briefly considers running away from the borstal but realises he would then forfeit the pleasure of witnessing the governor's disappointment and humiliation.
Smith's father (supposedly a paragon of honesty) is contrasted with the governor, who, Smith imagines, will take the credit for Smith's expected victory, and will represent this as a vindication of his enlightened methods, thereby securing at least admiration and at most a knighthood (...we'll get him made a Sir).
Near the line Smith fears that the next runner may be too far behind for him to lose properly, but he decides that, if need be, he will stand still in front of the winning tape, just as his father, in refusing hospitalisation, remained true to his beliefs in spite of pain. At last another runner arrives, to overtake Smith before the tape.
The story concludes with an account of the governor's expected punishment of Smith. Contrary to the governor's intentions, these have helped Smith further. Six months of tiring menial work cause Smith, on his release, to go down with pleurisy, which enables him to avoid National Service.
We learn, finally, how borstal has made Smith a more skilful burglar, rather than a reformed character. To give the work a veneer of authenticity Sillitoe concludes with Smith's comment that he is writing his story in a book, which his pal can have published, should Smith be convicted again. If this does not happen, Smith is sure his pall will not betray him. Typically, Smith makes a concluding observation that the governor (presumably because he lacks honesty) will not understand the book, even if he reads it. As we are reading the apparently now-published work, we must assume that Smith's fatalistic fear of his inevitable return to custody has now been realised - and the pal has kept his word. (Quite how this person would get such an account published is not clear.)
Questions for discussion
Smith likes his friends from the same class and background as he is. He hates policemen, who come from the working-class but help those in power. In a different way he hates those who own property and those who run the country (the middle classes and the upper class). He has a very simple view of society. Is it right? Sillitoe (the writer) wants to show how such a person tries to fight against the system, and how he can succeed, but only by hurting himself. He does this in Smith's theory of in-laws and out-laws.
Make sure you can explain this and quote to support your view. Sillitoe also does it by the symbolism of a race: Smith thinks he is treated like a race-horse (not a person) but less well; he is running against the system (people in power and their way of running the world); he cannot win the race, but he must keep running; when he stops, it will mean he is dead. Sillitoe makes this symbolism or metaphor more vivid in that Smith is also literally running a race, against other borstal inmates. He loses the real race, while keeping going (not losing) the metaphorical one.
There are no real characters (the story is far too short) but Smith tells us about a number of people who have influenced him, or with whom he has a relationship. Sometimes the reader can see these people slightly differently from Smith (Sillitoe intends this to happen). People Smith quite likes are
His mum he sees as very weak, though she supports him. The two people he especially hates are
Smith is strongly motivated by his dislike of them. But the biggest influence in his life is his dad. We find out about him quite late in the story. In every case the person has been used by Sillitoe to show us something about Smith and his outlook. Try to say what this is.
Sillitoe lets Smith tell his own story: in what way is this a strength or failing of the narrative?
In order to answer this question, you should consider the following:
Ideas for writing
Before you start to write
Before you write anything you should have in mind a sense of your subject, your purpose and your audience - for example your subject is health promotion, your purpose is to help smokers quit and your audience is people buying tobacco products in the UK. So what you write is a short warning to appear on the packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
In schools, pupils sometimes write things (or are told to do so) without asking these questions first. This can be fun, but in real publishing (which may have big costs but also can make profits) there is usually more focus. So, in writing his books, Alan Sillitoe thinks of a youth or adult audience, and his direct purpose is to entertain (perhaps) while his indirect purpose is to make enough money to keep writing. (Happily, he has had enough success to be able to write for as long as he feels able and interested, which is good news for his many fans.)
In writing this study guide, I have a very specific audience (or related set of audiences) in mind: students, teachers, trainee teachers and parents or tutors. If anyone else reads the guide, this is a bonus. The purpose is to help the students succeed in their work, while a second purpose is for them to enjoy some parts of it. I have other expectations - I do not expect ANYONE to read this from beginning to end in one sitting. It is set out in sections for users to dip into and pick and choose. (You will, anyway, so I may as well work with this, not against it.)
With some narratives you can add to the story (TV soap operas are designed to make this always a possibility). With others, the writer has already said all there is to say, and trying to extend the story can only harm it. Which kind of story is this one? The ending of this story does imply that there will be consequences in the future, but leaves this open. Will Smith continue to commit crimes, will he become more law-abiding, or will he become more skilful at evading detection? There are many things that one can reasonably do with such a narrative - either to explore particular situations and characters in it, or to adapt it into different forms.
Changing the form - drama
This story is well suited for making into a script for dramatic performance. It could easily be adapted for television or radio, and could even make a fair stage play, with some slight changes. It has been successfully adapted as a feature film - but you might want to remake it for a more contemporary audience.
For this task, you can produce several linked pieces of writing:
Several students could work together to write the whole drama. If it is very good, you could even submit it to a production company for real performance. If you develop a stage play, then you could find a theatre company that wants to perform it. Make sure that you find out about the conventions (rules, agreed style) for setting out scripts for the stage or radio and TV (similar but not quite the same).
Perhaps the governor keeps a diary. We don't know about real diaries (they are private) but we know of fictitious diarists like Adrian Mole and Bridget Jones.
Write a series of entries for diaries kept by the governor. These should be for dates before and after the Blue Ribbon Prize Cup.
In doing this, you can adapt your style to the way you think the governor would write - you can do this quite seriously, or in a comical way, as if to criticize the governotr through ridicule or satire.
Smith's borstal file
Write a series of reports that might be kept in Smith's record file. These may be written by various officials at various times but should include all of the following:
Remember to give the officials' opinion of Smith at each point. You may add any other reports you think useful.
Ideas for speaking
It is possible to combine writing and speaking by creating scripts and reading these aloud. But this section contains ideas for speaking without a script. For some tasks, you may want to have notes (as many real speakers do in situations where they need to recall a structure), cue cards or even an autocue. How do you do this? Put the cues into a text file on a PC. Change the font to a size you can read at a distance (say 72 point) and look at the screen while you speak. If you are being recorded onto videotape, then you can record with your camera beside the PC monitor, so you are looking into the camera, more or less. If you have a larger display (such as an interactive whiteboard, or a screen onto which you can project images from a PC) this is helpful. But you can also ask a friend to hold up cards on which you have written with marker pens!
Ideas for speaking work lend themselves to the use of computer technology and other audio-visual aids. For example, you can use presentation graphics software (such as Microsoft PowerPoint ™) to deliver or to support what you do.
Interview or hot seat
In this task a group of students each take on the identity or character of someone in the story or who might have an interest in what happens. (So here, you could add police officers, social workers, prison officers, Smith's family and friends - include people, as your task requires them.)
Other students are an audience who have a reason to listen to the first group. At the most basic, you can do this as if you are a studio audience listening to a broadcast discussion. But you could be a jury, a committee with some powers to vote, or members of a parliament. Perhaps the most likely group (usually there are three) would be the bench of magistrates, deciding Smith's fate after some future crime.
The guidance on this page should help you to read this text with understanding. For some exam courses you may wish to do assessed work in which you compare The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner with some other text, including prose texts written before 1900. Among texts with similar themes are various novels and short stories by classic authors. The following list has suggestions for text which you could study together with The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner:
Preparing for exams
Before an exam you should try to re-read the whole book. It is not very long. If you are not a good reader, just do half an hour or so at a time. What you need to know is given here in much simplified form. Don't just retell story; answer the question set.
Go over what happens
Download this guide
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© Andrew Moore, 2002; Contact me