The Running Man

In his young adult novel, The Running Man (2004), Michael Gerard Bauer explores themes of transformation and evolution, illustrating that stereotyping and giving in to assumptions is a dangerous practice.

Fourteen-year-old Joseph Davidson is at a funeral, feeling sad and conflicted. Sitting in the front pew with his mother, he wonders how events have led him here. He thinks about silkworms, which he has been thinking of increasingly often. He then pictures the faces of three men who have never met, and yet, are connected through him: His father, Tom Leyton, and The Running man, a dark figure with burning eyes who has always been there.

Joseph recounts how he learned about his neighbors, the Leytons, from the Davidsons’ other neighbor, Mrs. Mossop, usually referred to as Mrs. Gossip. Mrs. Mossop spends much of her time dropping in on the Davidson family uninvited and talking about other people in the neighborhood; the Leytons are one of her favorite subjects. The Leyton parents are dead, but their children, Tom and Caroline, still live in the house together. Through Mrs. Mossop, Joseph knows that Caroline was engaged to be married and working toward a journalism career when her parents were killed in a car accident. Her brother, Tom, had returned home and rarely ever left the house.



Three months before the funeral, Caroline sees Joseph mowing his family’s yard and asks if he will mow her yard as well. Joseph’s mother gives her approval, but Mrs. Mossop insists that Tom Leyton is dangerous. Caroline and Joseph become friendly, and when Caroline hears that Joseph has an art assignment from school, she suggests he paint her brother.

That night, Joseph dreams of the Running Man, a terrifying figure who is always running, but in an off-balance way that hints at terror. The Running Man actually exists, spotted running in the neighborhood from time to time. He disturbs Joseph, and has begun invading his dreams as well. Joseph climbs the tree in his back yard to try to catch a glimpse of Tom Leyton; the branch breaks and Joseph falls.

The next day Joseph goes next door to sketch Tom. Tom admits he isn’t sure he wishes to be drawn but eventually agrees. Joseph works and is not happy with the result, but Tom is delighted and tells him he is talented. Joseph returns the next day for another session, and Tom tells him about the silkworms he raises. Tom also tells Joseph about his service in Vietnam with his best friend Mark. One day, a little boy approached them and asked for help, leading them into a trap that killed Mark. Tom has been haunted by this ever since, returning from the war a broken and brooding man.



Joseph is shocked one day to run into the Running Man on the street. The Running Man quotes poetry at him, speaking lines from “The Silkworms” by Douglas Stewart, leaving Joseph amazed and disturbed. While sketching Tom again, he learns that Tom has a heart condition. Joseph confesses to Caroline that he has come to like her brother very much. Spending more time with Tom, Joseph is present to witness the opening of the silkworm cocoons. Tom confesses to Joseph that in Vietnam, he hurt a young boy on purpose, and this is part of what haunts him. He then returned home to be a schoolteacher, but suffering from PTSD, he grabbed a young boy and unintentionally hurt him, forcing him to move home. Joseph tells Tom about his own regrets concerning his strained relationship with his father.

Joseph learns that his father has gone missing along with several other men in a mine collapse while traveling on business.

Tom tells Joseph he has helped him find some peace and happiness. He tells Joseph what he should say to the Running Man next time he meets him, challenging him to see past the obvious label to the human being beneath. Tom dies shortly afterward, his heart condition getting the best of him. Joseph confesses to Caroline that he should have helped Tom more, should have saved him, but Caroline assures him that he did, in fact, save Tom, and brought him back to life.



It is revealed that the funeral Joseph is attending at the beginning of the story is Tom’s; Joseph’s father has returned home, very much alive, and they have repaired their relationship. Caroline gives the eulogy, saying that her brother died in the war. Joseph learns that the Running Man is named Simon Jamieson; his entire family died in a tragic fire. He sees Jamieson at Tom’s funeral and chases after him, confronting him again and making what he thinks is the beginning of a connection.