John Cheever's The Enormous Radio

In 1947, John Cheever wrote a short story titled “The Enormous Radio” about the darkness that is hidden inside others and inside us. He does this through a masterful use of symbols, contrasting Irene and the radio, and dynamic character development. The radio and the protagonist of the “The Enormous Radio” are symbols demonstrating the journey to self-awareness. Cheever conveys this message through the journey of the dynamic protagonist, Irene Wescott—who begins this story as a naïve middle-aged wife but transforms into a distraught woman who has realized the dark secrets hidden by privacy.
The plot of “The Enormous Radio” is an average woman’s growing obsession with a radio that allows her to hear into her neighbors’ apartments. The short story begins by describing Jim and …show more content…
Although the Salvation Army band reaffirmed Irene’s believe in goodness, she proves this was only temporary during dinner with her friends. “She interrupted her hostess rudely and stared at the people across the table from her with an intensity for which she would have punished her children” (Cheever 177). Even after seeing the selfish kindness of people earlier, Irene immediately begins to search her friends for their hidden evils with her intense gaze (Boatwright 15).
Irene’s idealistic view of life is completely shattered after an argument with Jim exposed all the hidden darkness within her own life. Before this, Irene had believed that Jim and she were different from their neighbors, at one point stating, “Life is too terrible, too sordid and awful. But we’ve never been like that, have we darling...We are happy, aren’t we?” (Cheever 179). At the time, Jim convinced her that they were different from their neighbors, but Irene has finally come to the realization that Jim and her are an average couple. But unlike before, she does not find comfort in being average (Meanor