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Exposing Pain in The Enormous Radio
In John Cheever’s short story, "The Enormous Radio," Jim and Irene Westcott are presented as average, middle-class Americans with hopes and dreams just like everyone else. They are described as "the kind of people who seem to strike that satisfactory average of income, endeavor, and respectability" (Cheever 817). Jim and Irene thought they were the epitome of the perfect American family that was free from trouble and worry. The only way that they differed from their friends and neighbors was a deep passion for serious music. This passion, through the enormous radio, brought to their attention the realization that they had just as many problems as the next family. Their reaction to the radio argues the fact that they were not perfect and did not have a worry-free life.
The first sign that the radio was going to cause a problem was its physical appearance. Irene abhorred the radio: "She was struck at once with the physical ugliness of the large gumwood cabinet" (Cheever 817). The radio stuck out like a sore thumb in Irene’s perfectly arranged living room. The radio’s appearance resembled what it would eventually do, "bring a new ugliness into the perfectly arranged lives of the Westcotts" (Giordano 56).
When the Westcotts first realize that they had possession of an eavesdropping machine, Irene becomes extremely paranoid about whether or not they are being overheard too, like they have something to hide. Irene quickly becomes obsessed with listening to others’ conversations, as Nathan Giordano points out "it was like tuning into a soap opera on television" (56). The Westcotts would stay up late at night to listen to others’ conversations; some nights they went to bed "weak wit...
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...indeed have problems and that turning a blind eye to her problems doesn’t help solve them" (Smith 59). The enormous radio was a reality check for Irene. It was a lesson that all she can do is be the best person she can and that denial only represses guilt for a short time. Whether Irene understands this is uncertain, but the reader finally realizes that even the "average American family" may have problems that must be worked through, not forgotten.
Works Cited
Cheever, John. "The Enormous Radio." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 817-824.
Giordano, Nathan. "Illusions, Delusions." Ode to Friendship & Other Essays. Ed. Connie Bellamy Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1996. 55-58.
Smith, TaVeta. "The Perfect Facade." Ode to Friendship & Other Essays. Ed. Connie Bellamy Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1996. 58-59.
The suffering that occurs in Irene’s surroundings causes her to lose her faith in her religion as well as in humanity. People’s perspective may change when they are faced with new or difficult environments.
Power. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
...When Clare talks to the maid and cook, Irene feels this is “an exasperating childlike lack of perception” because you are not supposed to be friends or associate with servants. She wants to feel superior to the help she has hired, even though they claim the same racial identity. Irene, being only half white lives in a community where everyone identifies as black, however she desperately wants the white half of her to hold some sort of weight in her life. Although she identifies as black, Irene’s actions display nothing but her wanting to assimilate into white culture. She tries to fuse both races together in an attempt to attain some sort of racial identity, but fails to do so. Ironically, throughout the whole book, Irene tries her best to stay loyal to one race, but the actions she takes constantly clashes with the identity she claims in her black community.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
O'Connor, Frank. "Guests of the Nation." Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Sylvan Barnet, et. al. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 590-598.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Fifth Edition, Vol. 2. W.W. Norton & Company, New York. C. 1998
When a person has enough power in a society, it gives them a lot of control over certain things. When they have this control, they can have ownership over a person or a thing. By naming someone, or something, a person gains an unspoken ownership over him or her, they are now in control of him or her and it has created a new identity for them and erased their old identity. Power, naming and un-naming, control and ownership and identity are very important elements in “Mary” and “No Name Woman”. Both essays deal with power, identity, control and ownership, while “Mary” focuses more on naming and “No Name Woman” focuses on un-naming.
Despite being within the dark aspect, Irene still benefits from her first encounter with her grandmother and thus undergoes a small change. Due to meeting her grandmother, Irene realizes that sometimes it is wise to keep her own counsel.
Fiero, John W., and Marjorie J. Podolsky. "Ernest J. Gaines." Magill's Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition. N.p.: Salem, n.d. 1-12. EBSCOhost. Web. 9 May 2014.
Although Staples is “free,” the constant stigma he experiences acts like chains grounding him to constant judgment. Staples consistently causes unsettling thoughts in prejudice minds. The American Dream is the ideal that everyone should have an equal opportunity to attain success and prosperity, through hard work and determination. Staples grew up “one of the good boys” determined to succeed (2). In his twenty’s, he obtained a college degree from the University of Chicago. Staples is deprived from an equal opportunity to achieve the dream because in America’s culture he is perceived as a danger to society. Although Staples is far from a threat, he feels the urge to calm pedestrians near him with the use of soothing tunes. Staples writes, “I employ what has proved to be a excellent tension-reduction measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers”(2). This measure has a positive response and the individuals near Staples join in on the tune. Staples’ American Dream is limited by feeling the need to please those around him. Even though Staples has all that is needed to succeed, he will be forever limited by the color of his skin.
Hatcher, Nathan. "Sammy’s Motive." Ode To Friendship . Ed. Connie Bellamy. Virginia Beach 1997. 188-189.
In order for countries to cohesively overcome international barriers, frameworks of ideal political standards must be established. Two of these frameworks constantly discussed in international relations are the theories of Neo-realism and Liberalism; two theories with their own outlook at the way politicians should govern their country as well as how they should deal with others. Neo-realism lies on the structural level, emphasizing on anarchy and the balance of power as a dominant factor in order to maintain hierarchy in international affairs. In contrast, Liberalism's beliefs are more permissive, focusing on the establishments of international organizations, democracy, and trade as links to strengthen the chain of peace amongst countries. Liberalism provides a theory that predominantly explains how states can collaborate in order to promote global peace; however, as wars have been analyzed, for example World War II, the causes of them are better explained by Neo-realist beliefs on the balance of power and states acting as unitary actors. Thus, looking out for their own self interest and security.
In conclusion realist and liberalist theories provide contrasting views on goals and instruments of international affairs. Each theory offers reasons why state and people behave the way they do when confronted with questions such as power, anarchy, state interests and the cause of war. Realists have a pessimistic view about human nature and they see international relations as driven by a states self preservation and suggest that the primary objective of every state is to promote its national interest and that power is gained through war or the threat of military action. Liberalism on the other hand has an optimistic view about human nature and focuses on democracy and individual rights and that economic independence is achieved through cooperation among states and power is gained through lasting alliances and state interdependence.
In the novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, heroism is expressed in many different ways and in different characters. According to the dictionary a hero is defined as “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deed and noble qualities” (Webster). Forms of Heroism are expressed in ways such as, bravery, determination and intelligence.
The balance of power is closer with first great debate. The realists also diverge on some issues. So-called offensive Realists maintain that, in order to ensure survival, States will seek to maximize their power relative to others (Mearsheimer 2001). If rival countries possess enough power to threaten a State, it can never be safe. The hegemony is thus the best strategy for a country to pursue, if it can. Defensive Realists, in contrast, believe that domination is an unwise strategy for State survival. They note that seeking hegemony may bring a State into dangerous conflicts with its peers. Instead, defensive Realists emphasize the stabi...