The Church in America & Protagonist of Rabbit, Run

When Harry Angstrom hears God's name he feels guilty (Updike 7) which to Harry indicates that he's a "Christian." However, since the definition of Christian is one who follows Christ and tries to imitate Him, the opposite would be true. The discipleship of Christ would cause one to feel joy, or at least pride, at the name of Jesus. What makes Harry Angstrom feel joy is not Christ, but basketball. He will even interrupt a group of strangers to get the joy of sinking a basket that he has become addicted to: "though he shot from an angle the ball is not going toward the backboard. It was not aimed there. It drops into the circle of the rim, whipping the net with a ladylike whisper. 'Hey!' he shouts in pride."

If living the Christian life meant playing basketball Rabbit would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, but that isn't the case, and heaven isn't his goal. In fact, since Jesus came to save and forgive sinners, and

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t senses the trap he tries to run "south, down, down the map into the orange groves and smoking rivers and barefoot women" (Updike 21). He spends the night on the road, hoping to arrive at the Gulf of Mexico and sleep on the warm sands by sunrise. By sunrise he is back in his hometown asking to sleep on his old coach's bed. Augustine then speaks of something else like a trap, quoting Philippians, the epistle Paul wrote in prison: But Thy mercy is better than lives, and behold my life is but a scattering. Thy right hand has held me up in my Lord, the Son of Man who is the Mediator in many things and in divers manners -- that I may apprehend by Him in whom I am apprehended and may be set free from what I once was (230). Augustine compares the irony of being trapped by the consequences of his sinful choices and being trapped by God. The former is "scattering" but the latter is to be "set free." Harry Angstrom is not free because he will neither surrender his sin nor his soul. Rabbit's behavior throughout the novel is only selfish, only oriented towards what he wants. His running, his adultery, and his return, are motivated never by concern for others but only for himself. Having returned, having gone to church, Rabbit feels so
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Approximate Word count = 2337
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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