Chapter 8:
1. What is Joseph's reaction to the two photographs he finds in the downstairs room? (pp. 125-6)
When Joseph finds the two photographs in the downstairs room he seems surprised to find the Tom Leyton in the photographs different from the person he now knows. The person in the photographs looked happy and had a friendly smile fixed on his face which was completely different to the present Tom Leyton who dull is and never shows any real emotions. Joseph wonders where the real Tom Leyton has gone and whether or not he would be able to come back.
2. After Joseph speaks of the Running Man, Tom Leyton says, "Perhaps you've never seen him." What does he mean by this?
After Joseph speaks of the Running Man, Tom Leyton says, "Perhaps you've never seen him" which implies that people may not be what they seem, for example, Tom Leyton has trapped his personality inside him because he is afraid of his nightmares about the Vietnam War and does not show his real self. As the story progresses Tom Leyton reveals his true self through Joseph's questions about his past.
3. What connection does Tom Leyton make between himself and the Running Man (p.136). Which of his comments regarding the Running Man do you think could also apply to him?
Tom Leyton makes connections about himself and the Running Man by implying that they have both changed. In other words, they may not have been what they are now a few years ago. The Running Man was probably like any other young person during his youth but life's circumstances have led him to be the person he is now. The following comments about the Running Man also apply to Tom Leyton: "devils come in many forms" and "whether you're running after a desperate dream or away from a nightmare, you can never get one step closer or one step further away". These comments are about the hidden fears which eventually become a part of the person if they do not overcome them.
4. How does the ending of this chapter leave us with an uneasy feeling about Tom Leyton?
The ending of this chapter gives the reader an uneasy feeling about Tom Leyton because when Joseph asks him about what the man in the poem was running from Tom answers as though the poem refers to him because he cannot live with who he is and thinks that he is Satan. When Tom Leyton speaks the name "Satan" it is like the cold finality of a boulder rolled before a tomb and it feels like he is applying this statement to himself which brings tension into the room. Tom Leyton thinks that he is like the man in the poem. He is disgusted by his past which is why he stays at home and does not meet anyone else apart from Caroline, that is, before Joseph comes over to paint his portrait. Tom cannot escape his cocoon (his dark secrets about his past) while Joseph tries to help him to come out of the cocoon and to overcome his obstacles.
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