Peacock's exploitation of Ma once she has become reliant on him for firewood. The novel's more insidious acts of violence include Squizzy's exploitation of Charlie's naivety and youth, the implicit threats Charlie uses against the people he needs to collect money from, and Mr.

Peacock assaulting his mother-an incident that results in Charlie knocking the man out with a cricket bat. The most overt examples of violence arise when Charlie and Norman run into Barlow and his gang in the Fitzroy gardens, the shootings that are exchanged between Squizzy's gang and the Fitzroy push, and when Charlie comes home to find Mr. As an ever-present aspect of Charlie's life, violence occurs in overt and insidious ways. Violence is one of the novel's most pervasive themes. He is rarely able to stop and reflect on how his father was important to him and what his absence truly means. Because Charlie has no time to mourn his father, Charlie's sadness arises periodically and unexpectedly. Charlie is thrust suddenly into being the 'man of the house,' which prompts him to take a job running errands for Squizzy Taylor. Too poor to be afforded the luxury of properly grieving his father's death from Spanish flu, Charlie and his mother must immediately figure out how to survive on their own. Runner begins with Charlie Feehan mired in an interrupted state of grief.

The runner robert newton