Reunion - Fame or Family?
Essay and e-mail - Reunion
A. An essay analyzing the short story
This essay is going to be an analysis and interpretation of the short story ‘’Reunion’’ by John Cheever. It will begin with a summary of the short story. Afterwards the plot, the conflict and the setting will be analyzed. Then I’ll move on to the characterization, the possible surprise ending and the theme and message. Finally I will draw parallels between the short story ‘’Reunion’’ and the essay ‘’Living With Strangers’’ by Siri Hustvedt.
‘’Reunion’’ is a short story about a boy called Charlie and his last interaction with his father. Charlie was travelling by train from his grandmother’s to a cottage his mother had rented. He would be in New York for about an hour and thirty minutes while waiting for the new train and therefore he wanted to meet his father. He hadn’t seen his father for three years and Charlie was exited to see the man he looked up to again. Because of the lack of time, they couldn’t go and see the father’s club, so they had to find a restaurant in the area. They went to four restaurants and they get more or less thrown out of all four. The father in this short story was either really drunk or/and very arrogant. In all occasions he talked down to waiters or behaved bad in one way or the other. In spite of his bad behavior they managed to get a ‘’Beefeater Gibson’’ at one place. It all ended with the father going up to a newsstand, again with a bad attitude, which was the final straw for Charlie who said ‘’Goodbye, daddy’’ and walked towards the station. That was the last time Charlie saw his father.
This short story is one big flashback. The whole story is a flashback that concedes chronologically. It starts with a very short introduction in which Charlie just says ‘’The last time I saw my father was in Grand Central Station.’’, and from thereon he tells the story as a flashback.
The conflict in this story is the high expectations from Charlie. Charlie admires his
A. An essay analyzing the short story
This essay is going to be an analysis and interpretation of the short story ‘’Reunion’’ by John Cheever. It will begin with a summary of the short story. Afterwards the plot, the conflict and the setting will be analyzed. Then I’ll move on to the characterization, the possible surprise ending and the theme and message. Finally I will draw parallels between the short story ‘’Reunion’’ and the essay ‘’Living With Strangers’’ by Siri Hustvedt.
‘’Reunion’’ is a short story about a boy called Charlie and his last interaction with his father. Charlie was travelling by train from his grandmother’s to a cottage his mother had rented. He would be in New York for about an hour and thirty minutes while waiting for the new train and therefore he wanted to meet his father. He hadn’t seen his father for three years and Charlie was exited to see the man he looked up to again. Because of the lack of time, they couldn’t go and see the father’s club, so they had to find a restaurant in the area. They went to four restaurants and they get more or less thrown out of all four. The father in this short story was either really drunk or/and very arrogant. In all occasions he talked down to waiters or behaved bad in one way or the other. In spite of his bad behavior they managed to get a ‘’Beefeater Gibson’’ at one place. It all ended with the father going up to a newsstand, again with a bad attitude, which was the final straw for Charlie who said ‘’Goodbye, daddy’’ and walked towards the station. That was the last time Charlie saw his father.
This short story is one big flashback. The whole story is a flashback that concedes chronologically. It starts with a very short introduction in which Charlie just says ‘’The last time I saw my father was in Grand Central Station.’’, and from thereon he tells the story as a flashback.
The conflict in this story is the high expectations from Charlie. Charlie admires his