A Dash for Freedom

The short story, A Dash for Freedom, is about a normal middleclass family, with a mother, Eleanor, a father, Ray, and the daughter of the two, Penny.

Ray is a normal accountant, who lives in an ordinary house, with his ordinary family. He wears a suit and tie every day, for that is required at a big insurance company, which he works at. (“He often day-dreamed about the life he could have lived, the actor he might have been, the drunken fights he might have been in! ) He is a dreamer, for that is all he can do now. He feels like his life has passed, and he regrets that he did not make the most of his teenage years. Therefore, when his daughter, Penny, comes home with a boy, Andy, he does not judge him at all. Andy is what most people would call a delinquent, black clothes, huge motorcycle, does not believe in exams (“Andy remarked he did not believe in exams anyway” ) However, Ray had taken a liking to him, and he found no malice in the boy (There was no malice in the boy ). He does not want to keep Penny locked up, because of how many exciting experiences she could enjoy, that he did not.

Andy is very relaxed, when it comes to his life. He lives for the moment, and he does not care about what might come tomorrow. He makes money by moonlighting to afford his expensive clothes and motorbike. His motorbike is the symbol of his pride, his freedom, with it he can go anywhere and everywhere. This is what makes Ray like Andy so much, his laid-back attitude, and his freedom to do whatever he wants, when he wants. Parenthetically, Andy’s language is very brusque: (“This your Mum and Dad then, Pen?” ). Andy is probably from a working class family like Ray (“his father was a butcher” ), which indicates that Ray is able to recognise himself (and his dreams) in Andy.

Andy’s motorbike symbolises freedom and pride, and that freedom is what Ray yearns