Student Question
What are the five most important events in "The Eighty-Yard Run"?
Quick answer:
In "The Eighty-Yard Run," the five key events are: Christian Darling's eighty-yard practice run, which defines his life; his marriage to Louise, marked by initial prosperity; the bankruptcy and suicide of Louise's father during the Great Depression, leading to Darling's decline; Louise's success at a fashion magazine, shifting their relationship dynamics; and Darling's realization on the football field that the run was the peak of his life, as he attempts to recreate it.
The short story "The Eighty-Yard Run" by Irwin Shaw tells of a man named Christian Darling whose defining moment in life is a practice run of eighty yards on a football field. It is told in a framing device of Darling revisiting the field 15 years later and remembering the events in flashback.
The first important event in the story is the run itself. Irwin opens with a description of the run, the positive reaction of the coach and his teammates, Darling's satisfied feeling while showering and dressing, and his meeting with his girlfriend Louise in her car.
The second major event is Darling's marriage to Louise. She is in love with him and continuously brings him gifts from her father. Although Darling has had numerous quick affairs with other women, he marries Louise when they get out of college. Louise's father gives Darling a job, and for...
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a time, they have a lot of money and enjoy the high life in New York.
The next important event occurs when Louise's father's company goes bankrupt due to the Great Depression. Her father commits suicide while Darling goes into a rapid decline as he loses his job and begins drinking heavily. He becomes glum and verbally mistreats Louise.
Louise then gets a job at a women's fashion magazine. This is a major event because it marks a sort of changing of roles for Darling and Louise. In the past, Darling has always been the important and admired one in the relationship. Now, however, Louise becomes important and makes most of the money that supports them. Darling remains flat and sullen while Louise is promoted and comes to know influential people. Darling and Louise grow apart, as he is unable to accept the changes that have come about in their lives.
The last major event in the story happens on the football field where Darling has been reminiscing. He abruptly realizes that the day on which he made the eighty-yard run was the best day of his life:
The high point, an eighty-yard run in the practice, and a girl's kiss and everything after that a decline.
As he realizes this, he stands up and recreates the run as he remembers it.