Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates - Book Report/Review Example

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates Summary Revolutionary Road was written by Richard Yates in 1961, and takes place in 1955, a time when things were progressing and improving for Americans. The novel focuses around the Wheeler couple, Frank and April, who are different from their suburban neighbors in the sense that wanted more than they could possibly get from the place they were living. April, however, is the one that wants to actually take the steps in accomplishing something big, which involves her wanting to move to Paris to further her acting career and find better work. Unfortunately, Frank is not as enthusiastic and has found a kind of solace in his mundane, slow office job. When the third child of the couple is born, it becomes clear that Aprils dream is not coming true, though this is not helped when Frank is praised at his place of employment - he realizes that he has reached his goal, yet April is stuck raising yet another child. Themes The most obvious theme in the novel is that everyone is alone. While they may be surrounded by people that love, care, and support them in every possible way, there will always be a moment when that person has to do something on their own. April, for instance, was constantly supported by her husband. He believed in her dreams, encouraged her, and was there for her when things did not work out accordingly. When she expressed her desire to move to Paris to see what else she could get out of her talent, Frank was less than excited by the prospect. He was familiar with his seemingly comfortable life and did not want to do anything that would greatly alter what they already had. In the same sense, April was not there when Frank expressed his need to keep things the way they were. Just as he thought only of himself and his happiness and needs, she thought only of herself and what she wanted. Abandonment might be too strong of a word to describe what took place within the novel, but in essence, that is what happened. In their greatest moment of need, when one needed the other more than ever, that other person was not there. A lack of support at the wrong moment led to many breakdowns, between the couple and between the individuals themselves. In the end, Frank and April had nobody. They still had each other in the sense of husband and wife, but they no longer had someone to support them in their dreams. Their hopes had been dropped due to the lack of support from the other, and now they are both suffering in that regard. The tragedy lies in the fact that while everyone has many people in their lives to love them, they still only have themselves to depend on in the end. Another theme was self-deception. Both April and Frank, though both knowing that things were not the way that they wanted them to be, still put on a front that made others believe that they had everything. After a time, April and Frank began to believe that things were good enough, which made it all the harder when they realized that their lives were so far from the perfection that they had come to hang on to. In the end, when their dreams fell through, they had only succeeded in deceiving themselves. April believed that she could make it big with her acting if she moved to Paris, but she was never able to make it that far due to life happening and not following with her plans. She let herself down, not purposely, but it still happened. Frank felt that he was happy with what he had, including his boring job at the office; his attraction to his job was what kept him and his family from going to Paris. In this sense, he deceived himself in thinking that he had enough, that there was no such thing as "better" or "more." He accepted the life they had and left it at that. Self-deception happens all too often when someone believes they want more, yet convinces others that they are perfectly happy where they currently stand in life. They spend so much time putting up this happy front that part of them begins to believe it. Unfortunately, everything comes crashing back down when reality hits and they realize that they are as miserable as they could possibly be. Alcohol and the effect on a family is another theme that is quite obvious throughout the story. Both April and Frank are heavy drinkers, and this clearly effects the way things are run and tended to in the family. Alcoholism develops within the two characters as the story progresses, and it is perhaps because of this that April begins to feel the need to get up and move somewhere else. Their constant drinking effects the way they view their lives, themselves, and each other, but instead of fixing their alcohol intake, they decide to do something else to quench their needs for change and difference. Alcoholism in this novel shows how drinking too much and too often can rip a person and a family apart. Last but not least, irony is the biggest theme, though perhaps not the most obvious. April sets out to change her life and make something of herself, though she forgets that she has already done this as a mother and a wife. Furthermore, in her attempts to change her life in a positive manner, she only ends up making things worse. While searching for one thing, she realizes something else: that she should have left life the way it was. Likewise, ironically, Frank felt that life was all right the way it was to begin with. He did not think it dull or of needing change, yet he let his wife take the wheel. In the end, after all has been said and done, April finds herself further away from her goals and dreams than ever. Instead of going forward with her journey, she only ends up going backwards. Character Analysis April Wheeler At the start of the story, April is a young mother of two. She is an artist, specializing in acting, though she was having problems landing worthwhile roles. Being different from the rest of the automatons of her suburban neighborhood, April longed to move to Paris, thinking that it would help her in her career. Unfortunately, given her alcoholic nature, she acts indecisive all the while about what she really wants. She spends most of her time convincing others that she is living the perfect 1950s life, while, internally and among her husband, she continuously expresses her need for something more, something amazing. Her character does not grow so much as shrink throughout the book. At the start of the story, she is happy and hopeful, eager to bring along the change that she wants to see in her life. By the end of the story, she has lost all hope and begins to think and feel negatively towards the life that she needs to learn to fully accept, as there is very little chance of it to change at that certain point of her life. April is a thoughtful woman, though this does not seem to do her any good by the end of the story. She is left in a place worse than where she started off, because now she has the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness about her life. Mentally, Aprils character deteriorates throughout the novel. Her cheerful, positive disposition vanishes the more that she realizes that she is only pushing herself further away from her goals. Instead of forcing herself to the end of her goals, she gives in to the fact that the life she was already living is the one that she needs to get used to. Frank Wheeler Frank is the polar opposite of his wife. While she pretends to be happy with what they have, Frank is sincerely happy. He does not want to change anything, feeling content with what they already have and feeling unwilling to change it for anything. He tries to support his wife in every way possible, yet he cannot understand why she is so unhappy with their life. He has grown use to the comfort that they have always had, and cannot figure out as to what has changed his wifes perspective on everything. By the end of the novel, Franks mindset is more positive than Aprils. He has been praised at work, and this is his sign that he is at where he needs to be in his life. To change it, to go after something that might not work out for the better, would be a stupid move. He understood the importance of leaving well enough alone, and when all was said and done, he was happy about the choices that he made, as well as the ones that he did not allow to happen. Read More