Rabbit and Angstrom
A rabbit is "a person likened to a rabbit, typically in being timid or ineffectual; a poor or novice player" and "a runner who intentionally sets a fast pace for a teammate during a long-distance race."
Besides its other associations, Updike may have chosen the name Rabbit for his character for its echo of Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt, whose main theme "focuses on the power of conformity, and the vacuity of middle-class American life." This is unlikely, however, as Updike claims not to have read Lewis's novel until after he wrote Rabbit at Rest.
Updike said in interviews that the name Angstrom was inspired by his reading of Kierkegaard and meant to suggest 'stream of Angst'.
Read more about this topic: Rabbit, Run
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