Essay: Because It Is Running By

Time marches on and never stops. Although things may die, it still continues. You can plan you life down to the smallest detail, but suddenly is can be changed by large or small things in life. When life stands still, should we run away from it or let it pass? This dilemma besides our main character, Wil, in Jo Lloyd’s short story “Because It Is Running By” from 2009.
After his father lost his battle against cancer, his life has stood still for a while, until he realize that he has the options to change his life.
In this essay I will characterize the main character, Will, focus on Jo Lloyd’s style of writing and the significance of the title.

Wil is a young boy who lives with his mother. Together they run the “B&B”, which is a bed and breakfast place. He los his father to cancer and after that is their business gone downhill. Wil has given up trying to complete and education – instead he would help the family-business. After his father’s death to cancer, the business has stood still in a long time. It means a lot to Wil that the B&B only should be run on by family members:

“He remembered that there has been a conversation. We can’t afford it, he has said. The B&B’s the only thing making money, his mother said. We just need weather, he has said, the veg’ll pick up” (p. 1, ll. 7-9)

This shows, that Wil things a lot about the business and he thinks that only the weather, him and his mother could run the B&B back on track again.

Will is very attached to his home. When he was little and his family went on holiday, it was always camping they selected – so they has always have a part of their home and they were never completely gone, when they have their caravan.

In the last part of the text you understand the dilemma Wil faces. Is he going or let things continue as they always have been. He makes up his mind that he is doing well enough to travel wherever he wants – even it he has not tried anything other than camping. He has difficult to letting go the control he has when he is home, which also shows that he is so attached to his family and his home.

Will is also very close to the nature. The text reads several times that he is looking out on the nature and he is very fascinated about it. When he works, he also stops up and just looks around the nature for a while. Especially Edie, their new helper, noticed this:

“Sometimes, on her way out, she’d see Wil working in the field, planting, digging, stacking boxes of veg into the back of the old van […] Sometimes he’d be standing there, one foot on the fork, looking away into the distance, for minutes at a time”

Here you can see, that he is so fascinated by the nature, he stops working to enjoy the moment of silence and the beautiful view. This also shows that he is a natural human.

Will is the main character, but we still do now know much about his personality. He is trapped and does not really shows his feelings to others. His personality has been built up due his childhood, which is why he is to attach to his family and what they do.

The narrator is a third-person narrator. This means that the narrator is not present in the text, but describes through the characters. There is no specific point of view in the text – it switches between Wil and Edie’s perspective. This means that you will have an understanding of the different people’s attitude. Wil is illuminated from several angles, than just through the way he perceives himself, and Edie is also seen through his perspective.

“It’s just standing with your eyes closed, she said. Looking amused. With his hands on her waist, He could feel her skin through the thin shirt. For all her paleness she was warm, like the stored heat of the sun” (p. 3, ll. 105-107)

This shows how Edie is described by Wil perspective, and not how Edie sees herself. This also means that we know that he is thinking about her and what he really thought of her.

The text I also uses slang and informal description. Given that is being used “youth language” gives the text more life and make it more exciting to read for younger readers – instead of normal English, the slang and informal language a parachute effect and one can not always figure out what will be told from the different people.

“Dunno if it would have, though. Only so much you can do with a spreadsheet, isn’t there?” (p. 2, ll. 63-64)

Here it is seen, that Lloyd is using words that are informal – “dunno” which mean “ I do not know”. This means that the language has become younger and captures the reader.

The title “Because it is running by” can have several meanings. The text will be referred to a river – whatever the weather, the animals or everything else that may be around rivers, will still run on. This can be a visual image of the dilemma Wil faces. His life has stood still, but it still goes on. A river will always run, even if the weather is bad – it will always be run despite opposition.

To sum it up, this dilemma is very difficult for Wil. What should he do? Should he just let life take its course and just follow or should he take matters into his own property? Wil decides to stay because it is where he feels pressure and control. He does not want changes in his life when it still passes away. But if he took the chance and travel, he might feel that he has control over himself in other places than home and he will not feel that the time just pass away.

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[ 1 ]. Jo Lloyd, Because It Is Running By, 2009, p. 1
[ 2 ]. Jo Lloyd, Because It Is Running By, 2009, p. 3
[ 3 ]. Jo Lloyd, Because It Is Running By, 2009, p. 2