The Memory of Running, by Ron McLarty is an intense novel that is based on a true story. Smithson Ide, the main character, is a man that has always had a difficult life. He is a person that is an introvert on the outside, but he is constantly longing for friends deep within his heart. Smithy, now a 43-year-old man, he is addicted to smoking and drinking, and realizes that he needs to do something better with his life. He has a great passion for riding bike, which he picked up early on, when he received a Raleigh bicycle from his parents. Even though the bike was given to him, to locate his little sister Bethany whenever she ran away, he still rode it everywhere he went. Bethany ends up dying in the end of the book but her death is alluded to throughout the entire novel. While reading Ron McLarty’s, The Memory of Running, I have recognized examples of internal and external conflicts with the main character, Smithy. Smithson Ide is constantly fighting with himself mentally. He feels that his weight problem is controlling his entire life. Smithy identifies the issue, so he vowed that he would make a change. In order for this transformation to take place, he decided to commence on a…show more content… This individual was the best man at Bethany’s wedding. When Smithy introduced Dave into the book he said: “I didn’t like Dave. He didn’t like me either, but we’d smile and pretend we did for everybody’s sake” (McLarty 289). By these phrases he means that they truly hated each other, but they both acted like friends to satisfy the bride and groom. Smithy and Dave constantly clashed whenever they tried to carry on a conversation. There was always an ominous presence when they were in the same room at wedding gatherings. Smithy and Dave are like bears fighting over territory whenever they encountered each other (Figurative language). This is one example of a major external conflict between two characters in the