Analysis

Louie’s college years at USC represent an era of regression for him. At first, he performs well as a member of the track team, but without Pete nearby, he begins to lose sight of who he is and what he can accomplish. The cancellation of the 1940 Tokyo Olympics is an overwhelming setback for him, something he mourns like a death in the family. Illness interferes with his training, and losses on the track damage his hard-won confidence.

Left to his own devices, Louie becomes symbolically imprisoned by his own attempts to find an easy way through life. Just a few credits short of getting his college degree, he drops out of USC and takes a job as a welder. Then, not wanting to be drafted, he enlists in the Army Air Corps. But he fails and is discharged. He attempts a luckless career in Hollywood, only to suffer the indignity of being drafted after all. Louie again becomes the aimless, lost boy he was as a child, heading nowhere—fast.