Runaway By Alice Munro Essay

Nicki Minaj once stated, "I believe that life is a prize, but to live doesn't mean you're alive." This quote contains a valuable life lesson. In Alice Munro's Runaway, the female main characters are characterized to be disappointed with the life they have. Most of the women's dreams have perished due to their romantic relationships, predestined lives, or family. In the short story, "Runaway", the main character, Carla states, “I have always felt the need of a more authentic kind of life" (Munro 76). By saying this, Carla describes the need for spontaneity and adventure in her life, but also in the lives of the other female main characters. The main characters of "Runaway", "Passion", and "Tricks" all desire an authentic life, and are driven by either there romantic …show more content…
In "Tricks", Robin's sister holds her back and discourages Robin from doing what she desires. In an escape from reality and a search for adventure, Robin attends Shakespearean plays to fill the void in her life. Robin describes her feelings when going to the plays as she states, “Yet those few hours filled her with an assurance that the life she was going back to, which seemed so makeshift and unsatisfactory, was only temporary and could easily be put up with" (Munro 477). Here she states how disappointing life is, but she still has hopes that the disappointment is temporary. Fortunately, she starts an adventure with her new foreign lover only for a day. They promise to see each other a year later,and during the year wait, Robin plans her future with this man. Her waiting and planning proves her determination to continue her adventures with her lover. Sadly they do not end up together, so she continues to search for excitement and adventure by seeing many men after her past lover. As can be seen, Robin was unfortunate in her conquest for excitement as was Carla, but Robin's pursuance was started due to her sister's