what makes sammy run and my life

A detailed Summary of what makes sammy run and my life

What Makes Sammy Run, The Moral Compass, and My Life

What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg is a brilliant book that shows the savagery, the insensitiveness, and cruelty caused by the drive for money, which characterized the general attitude of most people in America during the end of 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s. Sammy Glick, the main character in the book, is a poor Jewish boy who grows into an adult and spends all his life trying to get to the top of the hierarchy by knocking other people down. It is money, prestige, and power, which are most important for him. His mind is constantly occupied with thoughts of how to manipulate people and benefit from their hard work.

To understand why Sammy is always hostile and always cynical towards people's good manners, one should probably look at Sammy's childhood. Brought up in poverty, running without shoes on the streets, working from early age to help his father to pay the rent, and beaten every time he goes to school, Sammy quickly understands that to escape this miserable living, he has to work hard. Soon he learns how to play tricks on people to make more money. "There is a guy on the opposi

The Moral Compass serves as a moral education. The different chapters and the stories they contain teach young people of hard work, perseverance, courage, compassion, responsibility, discipline, and many other virtues that a person should have, when he leaves his home-place in the search for self-fulfillment. Most of the stories included in the book constitute a journey. Each story is a "moral compass" that guides humans through their lives. The book can also be used to build one's character. Young children are susceptible to these teachings. Those stories create a model that children follow until they grow up.

Mother is always the one who takes care of her child. She is the one that has given life to him and he is part of her. Sometimes I have evidenced my own contempt towards my mother's reproaches, but in the end I realize that everything she does, she does it for me. I love my mother, because she has always been the one help me and to give solace in my saddest and loneliest moments. I owe my mother most of my accomplishments, because she has been the one to encourage me and help me through the difficulties of life. "And after that, he helped his mother for love"(22).

Sammy Glick is a "frantic marathoner' of life, 'springing out of his mother's womb, turning life into a race in which the only rules are fight for the rail, and elbow on the turn, and the only finish-line is death"(xvii)

He does not even cry when his father passes away. His only reaction "Is it over" (223) speaks of something not human. "Sammy was thirteen, but he was a veteran; he had learned something that took the place of tears"(223). Sammy has formed a hard shell that protects him from all human feelings. His drive for money, control and annihilation of everything human is unsurpassable.

Sammy doesn't show any respect towards his closest relatives. It is natural for him to knock his brother down to get the messenger job. Working many hours and getting more money, Sammy "was beginning to understand the secret of power"(220). He is not afraid of Sheik who used to beat him up every day at school.

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Approximate Word count = 2115
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English