The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, by Alan Sillitoe deals with an athlete facing conformity. Smith, Sillitoe's character is a young "rebel," who is in a borstal for stealing money from a neighborhood bakery. Smith is a long-distance runner, who runs every morning while in the borstal. The borstal governor keeps on top of Smith to keep running and win the "Borstal Blue Ribbon Prize Cup for Long Distance Cross-Country Running (All England)."
Throughout the story, Smith expresses his hate for the law, law-abiding citizens, and the law enforcements. He constantly calls them "pigs," "blokes," or "pop-eyed potbellied". He views life as a constant battle between the law and people like himself. …
