John Cheever and His Seemingly Average Americans

American Lit Mid 20th Century Albert Lafarge May 8, 2014 John Cheever and His Seemingly Average Americans Since 1935 middle class Americans have been able to sit in their suburban home or their urban apartment, open up a copy of the New Yorker, and read about themselves. Not literally, but rather a perfect reflection of themselves, or their next door neighbor, or their friend down the street. Of John Cheevers nearly two hundred short stories, one hundred and twenty one were published in the New Yorker. He wrote primarily about the seemingly average American He takes that stereotype and creates narratives that delve so deeply into the psyches of each of his characters that their ordinary lives become immediately enthralling. He draws universal connections that make his stories instantly relate-able no matter the setting. Cheevers work is generally sorted into four categories based on their location and while he manages to paint distinct pictures of the types of people in each environment we see an overarching theme throughout his writing the theme of the duality of man. Each story presents us with a main character, usually an upper-middle class American, battling between the facade they have created for the outside world and their innermost thoughts and desires a feeling we have all dealt with at one time or another. These characters typically live tranquil lives that become momentarily uprooted which sends each into a state of turmoil, and though we can usually rely on Cheever to return them to normalcy, there is the occasional exception. Each character is treated with such care that even at their times of normalcy we find each one somehow captivating. Cheever creates a dialogue among his vast audience and bridges the gap of social differences by offering common human conditions manifested within his characters. At the time of Cheevers greatest success as a writer suburbia was still a fairly new addition to the American scenery, albeit a significant one, with