Run

Run features a family who is, at first, very secretive and cut off from their extended relations. Citing examples from the text, discuss the impact of this original image of the Doyle family on the rest of the novel.

In Chapter 1, Uncle Father Sullivan plays an important role in deciding that Bernard Doyle and his sons should keep the statue. What is Uncle Sullivan’s significance elsewhere in the novel?

Analyze the way Patchett presents the sibling relationship shared by Tip and Teddy Doyle. How does this compare with the way she presents their relationship with their older brother, Sullivan?

Run includes many examples of character doubling: two adoptive sons, two deceased mothers, two men named Sullivan, two Tennessee Alice Mosers. What is the effect of these pairings of similar characters?

The characters attend a Jesse Jackson lecture in Chapter 2. Research Jesse Jackson and discuss why Patchett represents this political figure.

Most of Run is set in different neighborhoods in Boston; analyze Patchett’s use of setting throughout the novel.

Sullivan Doyle has a quippy sense of humor. Analyze Patchett’s deployment of comedy throughout the novel.

Chapter 1 moves through many decades of time, while most of the novel is set during a single 24-hour period. Discuss Patchett’s use of time in the novel.