There are many motifs that run throughout the story, Raymond's Run. One such motif is that of the May Day Race and Squeakie's parents' desire for her to put on a dress and nice shoes and do the Maypole dance with the other little girls. In contrast, she would rather run and wear her tennis shoes instead. This contrast between her parent's desires and her desires to be who she is are parallelled by her feud with Gretchen.
