One plus one plus one plus one.
Day by day by day by day.
Hour by hour by hour by hour.
I’m ready.
I can do this.
And I will.
-Wendelin Van Draanen, The Running Dream
Themes
The Running Dream has not only one but many themes. Sending a moral through a book is one of the best ways and Draanen does it amazingly. She does it in such a way in which it is noticeable yet still hidden in her words. The main theme in this novel is probably perseverance. It's about pushing yourself towards something you're passionate about no matter what hurdles come your way. Self- confidence is one of the main problems Jessica went through yet she still got what she wanted through her willingness. Your dedication and determination of what you want and need is what Draanen expresses through this story. She shows that if you want something really bad, you're gonna have to work for it 10 times as bad and Jessica portrays that. Another main theme would be to keep pushing and going, to not stop no matter WHAT comes your way. Push yourself to what you want no matter how difficult. Not only the fact that hope is needed, but also the fact that you shouldn't look at a person with a disability any different than a stable person. In fact, disabled people are more intelligent than those with stable bodies because they have learned to live with whatever they lack. The Running Dream teaches you that you should see a person as them and not their disability. If someone has lost a limb or eyesight or anything, you shouldn't judge. At all. Never. And Draanen did a great job portraying that through her writing,