Changes In The Egotistical Character Of Squeaky In Toni Cade Bambara's Short Story Raymond’s Run

“We have to humble ourselves and the way you do that is by serving other people.” Tim Tebow. “Raymond’s Run” was written by Toni Cade Bambara. The setting of the story is a neighborhood in Amsterdam Avenue in New York.

The protagonist of the story is Squeaky. The antagonist of the story is Gretchen. Squeaky is a competitive runner that seeks awards and recognition for her talent. Throughout the story, Squeaky’s behavior evolves from an egotistical and selfish person who is defensive and looking for a fight to a humble and grateful person. Squeaky will mature and become a better person.

Squeaky was egotistical at the beginning of the story. She thought she was faster than everyone in the school. In the story, Squeaky said, “I’m ready to fight, cause like I said I don’t feature a whole lot of chit-chat, I much prefer to just knock you down right from the jump and save everybody a lotta precious time.” ( page 282) This quote just proves how Squeaky is very aggressive and believes nothing can stop her.

Squeaky would say in an egotistical manner that “I always win cause I’m the best,” ( page number 279). It is well known that other people think she is a fast runner and think of her as Mercury. Squeaky tells herself she must win the race and she is the fastest thing in the world. These are some pieces of evidence that show he is egotistical.

Then, in some parts of the story, Squeaky is seen to defend her brother Raymond and helping him out. Squeaky defends her brother Raymond. When Gretchen asked Raymond what grade he was in, Squeaky told her if she has something to say to Raymond, to say it to her. Squeaky after the race would like to train Raymond.

In conclusion, Squeaky was egotistical and changed for the better. At the beginning of the story, Squeaky was always bragging and defensive. Near the end of the story of “Raymond’s Run,” she becomes a humble person. She changes her egotistical behavior and becomes more humble. She recognizes Gretchen also as a talented runner. Instead of thinking of how she will beat Gretchen, she thinks about how maybe she and Gretchen will work together to help Raymond so he could participate too. On page 291, Squeaky says, “We stand there with this big smile of respect between us.” Being humble has made her happier and she now thinks how she trains Raymond and becomes a friend of Gretchen’s.