John Cheever Reunion
Reunion
The settings in John Cheever’s short story Reunion is a necessary key to the reader’s understanding of dynamic between the characters. Based in the settings of the Grand Central Train station and four different restaurants the reader can make clear assumptions when analyzing the characters’ behavior in these environments. Cheever’s short story demonstrates how elements such as, humor, pathos, and the grotesque work together to tell a compelling tell of a father and son. The story begins with Charlie, the narrator, reaching out to contact his estranged father of 3 years. After a divorce between his parents the father has become a “stranger” (line 9) to Charlie. The father agrees to meet with Charlie at the train station for lunch, however it seems as though the father barely has enough time for his own son. Beginning with “his secretary” writing to return the son’s request (line 6-7) to the father showing up promptly at noon and mentioning his work immediately, the father shows little to no interest in Charlie himself. This attitude is an example of one of the rare moments of pathos that is shown in the story. The reader can sense Charlie’s want for a deeper connection with his absentee father especially after he expresses his desire to …show more content…
He states, “His boisterousness in the empty restaurant seemed out of place” (line 34-35). The reader can see an introduction to the personality of the father and his sense of pathos here. If the son can observe the father in such manner, how do other people see him? Do they take him seriously like the waiter in the first restaurant or pick at his obnoxious attitude like the waiter in the third restaurant? In these examples the reader can see the humor in the situations. However the more restaurants the two go to and get kicked out of, the more Charlie begins to realize or recognize the true demeanor of his
The settings in John Cheever’s short story Reunion is a necessary key to the reader’s understanding of dynamic between the characters. Based in the settings of the Grand Central Train station and four different restaurants the reader can make clear assumptions when analyzing the characters’ behavior in these environments. Cheever’s short story demonstrates how elements such as, humor, pathos, and the grotesque work together to tell a compelling tell of a father and son. The story begins with Charlie, the narrator, reaching out to contact his estranged father of 3 years. After a divorce between his parents the father has become a “stranger” (line 9) to Charlie. The father agrees to meet with Charlie at the train station for lunch, however it seems as though the father barely has enough time for his own son. Beginning with “his secretary” writing to return the son’s request (line 6-7) to the father showing up promptly at noon and mentioning his work immediately, the father shows little to no interest in Charlie himself. This attitude is an example of one of the rare moments of pathos that is shown in the story. The reader can sense Charlie’s want for a deeper connection with his absentee father especially after he expresses his desire to …show more content…
He states, “His boisterousness in the empty restaurant seemed out of place” (line 34-35). The reader can see an introduction to the personality of the father and his sense of pathos here. If the son can observe the father in such manner, how do other people see him? Do they take him seriously like the waiter in the first restaurant or pick at his obnoxious attitude like the waiter in the third restaurant? In these examples the reader can see the humor in the situations. However the more restaurants the two go to and get kicked out of, the more Charlie begins to realize or recognize the true demeanor of his