Hidden Truths in The Enormous Radio
John Cheever’s "The Enormous Radio" represents the enormous amount of hidden truths in American society of the 1940s. The problems with society during this time were hidden behind a facade of goodness; however, this false innocence becomes visible through the radio owned by the Westcotts. The radio causes the Westcotts to evolve from an innocent, naive pair who believe that everything they see is real, into individuals who realize that appearances are deceiving.
Cheever develops the motif of innocence by details like Irene’s "wide, fine forehead upon which nothing at all had been written" (817). Cheever also includes the fact that Irene "wore a coat of fitch skins dyed to resemble mink" (817). This is a very dishonest, not innocent, clue about the Westcott’s status. Jim’s youthfulness also represents innocence: Cheever states that "he dressed in the clothes his class had worn at Andover, and his manner was earnest, vehement and intentionally naive" (817). These innocent appearances will be recognized and reflected upon once the radio is delivered to the house.
The radio, an appropriately ugly instrument, looks "like an aggressive intruder" (817). Kendle Burton concludes from this statement that "To Irene, it is a Satanic invader of the Westcott’s world of apparent innocence" (128). Cheever writes, "The powerful and ugly instrument, with its mistaken sensitivity to discord, was more than she could hope to master" (818). This refers to the way that Irene tunes out the ugliness in her own life. Jim also tries to ignore these appearances by simply tuning them out. He explains to Irene that she does not have to listen to the radio. She can turn it off. Jim is explaining that they ...
... middle of paper ...
...tting on a mask of innocence as well.
The Westcotts have lost an illusory faith in themselves and their society. Now they must begin to find a real one with each other. Nowadays this recognition of society’s horrible secrets such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, racial discrimination, domestic violence, sexism, and many more are all too vivid. The only question that remains is whether it is better to acknowledge these hidden secrets like today, or to ignore them like yesterday?
Works Cited
Burton, Kendle. "Cheever’s use of Mythology in ‘The Enormous Radio.’" Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale , 1980.
Cheever, John. "The Enormous Radio." Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. NY: HarperCollins, 1991.
Rupp, Richard. "Of That Time, of Those Places: The Short Stories of John Cheaper." Short Story Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1988.
Updike, John. "A&P." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.1026-1030.
(Sept. 1976): 35-39. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke. Vol. 26. Detroit:
Cheever, John. "The Swimmer." The Northon Anthology American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
Even though in the beginning of the story the Westcotts’ old radio is outdated and constantly malfunctioning, it has the same innocence and simplicity as the couple. The radio, being "an old instrument" (817), and the couple, resembling "statistical reports in college alumni bulletins" (817), are both average and uncomplicated. Neither Jim nor Irene "understood the mechanics of the radio" (817), just as the radio, a machine, did not understand the human music and language it transmitted. Eventually the couple’s life begins to fall apart. This happens as the old radio get worse and finally "the music [from the radio] faded away all together" (817).
Prejudice, the act of judging someone based on outward appearance or social standing. In the 1960’s Harper Lee wrote a book called To Kill a Mockingbird, about prejudice and how hard the times were. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many examples of prejudice showing how morally wrong it was. There are several examples of prejudice in the book: Tom Robinson because he is African American, Boo Radley because of his standing in their society, and the Cunningham Family because of how poor they were. The following paragraphs will discuss these examples.
Evans, Robert C., Anne C. Little, and Barbara Wiedemann. Short Fiction: A Critical Companion. West Cornwall, CT: Locust Hill, 1997. 265-270.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Fifth Edition, Vol. 2. W.W. Norton & Company, New York. C. 1998
Updike, John. “A&P”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 864 - 869.
Bausch, Richard & Cassill, R.V. "The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction". 7th. New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2006. Book.
McMichael, G., et. al., (1993) Concise Anthology of American Literature- 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Cheever, John. "The Swimmer." The Northon Anthology American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
Racism and prejudice has been present in almost every civilization and society throughout history. Even though the world has progressed greatly in the last couple of decades, both socially and technologically, racism, hatred and prejudice still exists today, deeply embedded in old-fashioned, narrow-minded traditions and values.
At the start of World War II, millions of men and women in United States entered military service and built a phenomenal economic growth. When the war ended and America entered the postwar period, this was also seen as a golden era; however, during this time, there were also a number of problems that started to emerge in the social value and moral code. In the story “The Enormous Radio”, John Cheever not only uses metaphor to explore class aspirations, public social phenomena and private sordid life in the postwar era, but also uses the symbolism of the radio to illustrate the deformed humanity and moral failing.
Impact of the Radio The invention of the radio had an immense impact, revolutionizing the unity of society. “I live in a strictly rural community, and people here speak of ‘The Radio’ in the large sense, with an over-meaning,” said E.B. White in 1933. “When they say ‘The Radio’ they don’t mean a cabinet, an electrical phenomenon, or a man in a studio, they refer to a pervading and somewhat godlike presence which has come into their lives and homes” (Lewis). The radio became a mighty weapon whose power involved spreading ideas to millions of listeners, who may otherwise never have heard those inspirational messages. Religious fanatics used to stand at the back of churches shouting radical nonsense, while others would ignore it.