Question

Read the "Reunion" by John Cheever

As a writer, what can you learn from this story? Consider John Cheever's use of action, place or scene. You might also consider tone.

Answer 1

In his story “Reunion”, John Cheever described how a young boy’s exciting reunion with his father devolves into a series of embarrassments. The boy is aware of influence of hereditary factors on one’s nature and expects to behave like his father when he grows up.

At first, the narrator is so delighted to be reunited with his father that he wishes someone would photograph them together. However, he ceases to idolize his father soon. During a series of conversations between his father and the waiters of four different restaurants, Charlie becomes aware of his father’s drunkenness. Although he never makes any value judgments about his father’s conduct, it is evident that Charlie experiences significant embarrassment. It becomes evident to him that his father, whom he idolized, is just a drunken man with boisterous manners and a penchant for abusive language. Through this experience, Charlie and the reader learn to appreciate the importance of choices made in life. Just like Charlie, we realize that all aspects of one’s nature are not necessarily heritable and we can always choose the people whom we wish to idolize. At the end of the story, Charlie rejects his father’s influence in his life. He makes a crucial choice in his life by boarding the train, an act which symbolizes the decision. The reader recognizes the importance of personal choices in the shaping of an individual’s life.

Another minor lesson that we learn from the story is the fact that appearances can be deceptive. Charlie has an inflated image of his father and is forced to confront reality during the reunion. His father appears to be quite a learned man who is well versed in German, Italian and French. However, we as readers learn that learnedness does not necessarily bring about a refinement in manners.