Reading Response to "The Fall of Rome"

     Over the summer I read The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate. I found it really engaging and realistic. The book is told from the point of view of a few different people, but the main story revolves around a boy named Rashid and how he adjusts to a boarding school that he's going to. The boarding is mostly full of rich white boys and he feels out of place at his school, being black, and coming from a family that really doesn't have any money to spare. He gets into the school on a scholarship.

    One aspect of this book that I found really interesting was when Rashid tried out for the track team at his new school and finds that he's a natural at track. One of his teachers, Mr. Washington, who's the only black teacher at the school, also enjoys running and runs with Rashid from time to time. However, although Mr. Washington has been running for years, Rashid is faster than him, and has more natural talent than Mr. Washington does. 

     Mr. Washington is the only black teacher in an almost all white school, and he almost looks at other black students with contempt. He's not comfortable with his race, it's something he's grown to accept, not something he's proud of. Rashid however is very comfortable with his race, and he's proud of being in the school he is now, which he got into on a scholarship. 

     I think the author is using track as a metaphor with how these two black male individuals are dealing with their race in a place where they're the minority. Mr. Washington, although he's been dealing with it his whole life, is not yet comfortable with teaching at this school where he's the minority. He keeps to himself and tries to avoid what he sees as an issue by not socializing with other teachers. Rashid, however is using this experience to make other people see that he's really not different from anyone else, and that he's comfortable  with who he is and how he fits in. Rashid is "outrunning" Mr. Washington both literally and figuratively. I really liked the author's use of this metaphor.