The people in shady hills are shadowed by the truth that consumes their lives as a lie, conserving an illusion of happiness and dominance. They continue their lies living in a lifestyle of parties and fancy dinners and do not realise what is going on around them. To give an example of the superficiality life in shady hills, when Francis weed attended a dinner party with his wife, he noticed that he is familiar with the maid’s face, only to realise that he saw her during World War II. The maid was publicly humiliated for being a collaborator with the Germans. For a brief second Francis though about telling the other people at the party, but soon he realised that nobody will understand or care, because of the shallow characters pretending to
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When Francis asked him why he said that he does not approve the lifestyle of most people there: “well, there’s a lot here I don’t approve of”...” things like club dances. Last Saturday night, I looked in toward the end and saw Mr. Granner trying to put Mrs Minot into the trophy case. They were both drunk. I disapprove of so much drinking.” (Cheever p.577, the Norton). Clayton belongs to the minority of people that believe Shady hills is stuck in time, and the people there are swamped in their own ‘perfect’ world. Francis tried to defend Mr. Granner and Mrs. Minot by saying that it was Saturday night. Clayton responded rapidly, indicating that the people in shady hills are facile: “And the way people clutter up their live. I’ve thought about it a lot, and what seems to me to be really wrong with shady hills is that is doesn’t have any future. So much energy is spent in perpetuating the place-in keeping out undesirable, and so forth-that the only idea of the future anyone has is just more and more commuting trains and more parties. I don’t think that’s healthy. I think people ought to be able to dream big dreams about the future. I think people ought to be able to dream great dreams”. (Cheever p.577, the Norton). Clayton has a realistic view about what is happening in Shady hills and therefore he
When Francis asked him why he said that he does not approve the lifestyle of most people there: “well, there’s a lot here I don’t approve of”...” things like club dances. Last Saturday night, I looked in toward the end and saw Mr. Granner trying to put Mrs Minot into the trophy case. They were both drunk. I disapprove of so much drinking.” (Cheever p.577, the Norton). Clayton belongs to the minority of people that believe Shady hills is stuck in time, and the people there are swamped in their own ‘perfect’ world. Francis tried to defend Mr. Granner and Mrs. Minot by saying that it was Saturday night. Clayton responded rapidly, indicating that the people in shady hills are facile: “And the way people clutter up their live. I’ve thought about it a lot, and what seems to me to be really wrong with shady hills is that is doesn’t have any future. So much energy is spent in perpetuating the place-in keeping out undesirable, and so forth-that the only idea of the future anyone has is just more and more commuting trains and more parties. I don’t think that’s healthy. I think people ought to be able to dream big dreams about the future. I think people ought to be able to dream great dreams”. (Cheever p.577, the Norton). Clayton has a realistic view about what is happening in Shady hills and therefore he