Thematic Analysis of The Five Forty-Eight by John Cheever - Book Report/Review Example

Thematic analysis of "The Five Forty Eight" by John Cheever In the short narrative, "The Five-Forty-Eight" written by John Cheever, we are commenced to two characters who tend to have a concise private association with each other and to the consequences that eventually occur later to haunt them (Remnick and Susan 23). Mr. Blake is termed as the individual who is being judged accordingly. His persona defoliates eventually until the whole truth becomes evident (Cheever 32). The evil self within him urges him to control his emotions. Throughout the whole story, the feeling of arrogance and triumph prevails around the character of Mr. Blake. Blake has the feeling of victory, where he is conveyed by the actuality that he had the capability to outwit the woman who had persistently followed her. He managed to the “five-forty-eight”, and there was no evident sign of her everyplace. He perceives himself as a person with a high value and physique in spite the fact that his noticeable manifestation is very normal. He is a wedded man, who is very unhappy, and his family life is no longer a priority to his daily schedule, and he views his wife as a load instead of a responsibility (Boyle and Kvashay 65). It is evident that all the factors around him tend to disgust and irritate him. He also has the tendency of judging everyone and everything around him (Bloom 54). The story starts when Blake, leaves from the elevator and notices Miss Dent. In their Flashbacks, it is evident that Blake had managed to seduce a woman, who was initially mentally handicapped, and later abandons her. This sudden appearance and the uncharacteristic look of determination convert Blake to a vulnerable human being. However, he remains confident that he can outdo the woman and manage to escape. Blake’s power is identified as baseless as his self-confidence appears to be more substantial than his willingness to portray his selfish behavior and observe the sumptuary laws. According to the narrative “The Five-Forty-Eight”, by John Cheever, two characters are depicted to have a brief personal association among each other, the consequences that result after their malicious acts. Mr. Blake is termed to be an individual who is put on assessment and arbitrated accordingly (Cheever 56). Mr. Blake is presented as the guy put in trial, and is investigated until the truth is found. The brute within him begs for a rapid end. As the story proceeds notice that an eccentric woman is following Mr. Blake, who tries to harm Blake in a way that Blake regrets. The major themes that are evident in the story “The Five-Forty Eight” include the theme of despair, sin and redemption. Mr. Blake is a person who is identified as an evil person, who is only concerned with his life only. He is self centered and manipulative, he is identified as a person who gets what they want by all means. The story is based on a young woman who is seeking revenge on the malicious acts done against her (Bloom 71). The argument of good and evil is evident throughout the story. Blake is identified to have some evil forces in the story, which posses many character defects investigative to the major theme of the story, evil. He is termed as manipulative, malicious and someone who alienates himself from the rest of the family and friends (Fadiman 72). He is willing to give up his sexual desires, an act that indicates about his evil streaks. He takes advantage of his secretary, Mrs. Dent and later fires her. He loses his wife, friends and son due to his acts of harassing women to sleep with him. He is exceptionally one-dimensional and self involved, and he terms out that he married his wife due to her beauty, which is the reason why he is not attracted to her during their old age. He is so cruel that he does not even show any tenderness to her wife (Cheever 71). His neighbors and friends are aware of the evil acts that Blake does to his own wife; this is one of the reasons that make them to alienate him as a friend. His self devouring attitude turns off his friends and family, as he is not interested in their activities. Miss Dent represents Blake’s past. She is the main symbol of all the women that Blake has manipulated in the past (Bloom 89). Instead of getting the courage to approach women, Blake has the tendency of avoiding them after he maliciously sleeps with them. Blake sleeps with Miss Dent, and on the following day, he fires her and constraints him from his office. When Miss Dent met Blake, she imagined that her life would revolve around friendships, money and a well composed family. Miss Dent realizes Blake’s weakness and ruthlessness (Remnick and Susan 89). She discovers that despite her adoration of a man like Blake, the sorrows that Blake encountered and instead sympathizes with her (Remnick and Susan 100). She regrets on what drives her to fall for a man with uncouth behaviors like Blake. At the end of the story, it turns out that Blake is more tormented and affected by the actions he did in the past. Miss Dent is happy, and she can live a comfortable life after revenging on Blake (Cheever 86). The character of Blake illustrates on how he takes advantage of the individuals with low self esteem and dehumanizes and harass them. Deception is an act that affects all the characters in the whole story. Sin is based on it, and it is connected to the past events that happened to the characters lives. Blake is haunted by many of his imprudence frequently (Boyle and Kvashay 78). Each of these moments is created in an easy way that signifies his sin and the combination of deception. Blake’s wife is usually deceived that all the kind words she uses to her husband will change his behavior of treating him poorly. When Blake confesses to his wife that he will not talk to her for a period of two weeks, she weeps and persuades him to re-evaluate the decision. Miss Dent is deceived to believe that Blake actually cares about her; however Blake uses deceit to cheat on various women. He convinces himself that Miss through the affair. Dent is a shy woman who has various insecurities. According to his real self, he would rather abstain from the obvious to find himself out of the mess. The effort of good and evil is portrayed in the story. Miss Dent is identified as a girl who acknowledges the finality of evil. She is persistent in the motives of changing Blake and converting him to human instead of evil (Boyle and Kvashay 94). Her mission is turned down as Blake spreads on the ground weeping; she had wished that Blake would only feel the pain and sorrow he had imposed on her through his wicked action. Mrs. Dent disappears before she is murdered, this portrays how genuine she is in her attempts to conquer and subdue evil instead of taking away a life (Cheever 90). The good thought prevailed as Cheever personified the aspect of good and evil in the story “The Five-Forty-Eight” to encourage the understanding of the association. Cheever has the preoccupation of sin and deception as this is elaborated in the story. Blake shows his redemption as it is portrayed in the story with a feeling of regret. Sin is directly linked up with evil, and it is supposed to be eradicated in one way or the other (Fadiman 89). Deception is directly connected to evil in the narration “The Five-Forty-Eight”, without the aspect of deception, sin would not be elaborated fully in the story; all the characters involved portray an aspect of deceit. This is evident in the character and behavior of Blake. Blake is remorseful about his malicious acts; he is haunted as he knows that there is no act that would be implicated to change the situation (Bloom 102). While he regrets, Miss Dent is happy as she managed to gain all what she required. She is at peace and her past nature of uneasiness and sadness fades. Cheever proves that all the evil actions have their consequences, which tend to go as far as death. Work Cited Bloom, Harold. John Cheever. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. Print. Boyle, T C, and K Kvashay-Boyle. Doubletakes: Pairs of Contemporary Short Stories. Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004. Print. Cheever, John. Collected Stories and Other Writings. New York: Library of America, 2009. Print. Cheever, John. The Stories of John Cheever. New York: Vintage International, 2000. Print. Fadiman, Clifton. The World of the Short Story: A 20th Century Collection. New York: Avenel Books, 1990. Print. Remnick, David, and Susan Choi. Wonderful Town: New York Stories from the New Yorker. New York: Random House, 2000. Print. Read More