Reunion By John Cheever Analysis

Writers use specific qualities in their work in order to convey a theme, mood, or even contribute to the development of the characters, specific to the story. Successful authors are able to blend grotesque, pathos, and humor so that the story is cohesive as well as responsive. In the short story “Reunion” by John Cheever, these elements are used to construct a story about a young boy and the relationship between him and his distant father. Although the story is short, Cheever incorporates humor, pathos, and grotesque into the dialogue and narration in order to uncover the reader's emotions of frustration, pity, and comicality towards the protagonist and antagonist.
In the story, specific quotations influence how the reader feels toward the
One causes and has a major affect on the other. In this case, the use of grotesque initially evokes the reader's feelings of pity towards Charlie and his situation. As the story begins, Charlie, the protagonist describes his father in a delightful way: “He was a big, good-looking man, and I was terribly happy to see him again… I hoped someone would see us together.” Charlie is overwhelmingly happy to see his father whom he hasn't in 3 years. However, shortly after learning this, the reader is hit with a disappointing conclusion about the father's personality. Once the reader realizes why Charlie is not particularly close with his father, they can sympathize with the young boy about what he has to go through. Because Charlie was so excited to reunite with his dad, the fact that he was so let down, upsets the reader and only confirms their original assumption about the father. Another example of pathos that may not be so obvious is when the narrator says, “I followed my father out of that restaurant into another.” This excerpt expresses that the son is trapped; trapped in a traumatic situation, where he has no power stand up to his father and speak his mind. He is stuck following his father's every action, hoping things will change. However they do not. The constant disappointment Charlie endures only causes the reader to develop even stronger sympathetic feelings towards Charlie as well as hatred towards his father. Cheever’s wise word choice also contributes to pathos because certain words spark a feeling within a reader. For example, at the bottom of the last page, the narrator switches from using “dad” to using “daddy” because it is a more powerful and meaningful word. Charlie used the term “daddy” in order to remind his father that he is and will always be his son, while the author uses “daddy” as a final way to emotionally connect the character and the reader. Lastly, the use of first person