In the early 1950’s, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy made a speech to the nation expressing he had discovered knowledge about 204 card carrying communists, with the use of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). After McCarthy’s speech, he became the national spotlight. Communism was shunned and not welcomed into America, McCarthy made a point to make that clear. In John Cheever’s “The Enormous Radio”, Irene Westcott, known as a wife and loving mother, becomes fascinated and drawn to the new radio her husband bought after the old one breaks. In further discovery, that she can eavesdrop on her neighbor’s lives through the radio stations and takes it to her advantage. She took away her neighbor’s privacy without them knowing by taking advantage
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The parents, Jim and Irene, love listening to music, specifically on their radio (Cheever 253). When the radio breaks down one day though, it causes Jim to have to buy a new one (Cheever 253, 254). Irene is immediately shocked and does not like the new radio. One day while Irene is listening to music as Jim is at work, she begins to hear an interference come through the radio station. As she listens more, she discovers it’s her surrounding neighbors in the apartment building (Cheever 254). This scares Irene to immediately shutting off the radio until Jim comes home. Her husband contacts the person he purchased the radio from and demands they repair it (Cheever 255). The radio is apparently fixed, but as Irene and Jim are listening to it once again one afternoon, they start to hear the neighbors through the music again (Cheever 255-256). Irene becomes immediately startled and turns off the radio, believing they can hear her and Jim’s conversations also (Cheever 256-257). Over the course of the next few days, Irene finds herself drawn to listening in on her neighbor’s lives, dedicating herself to spying on them (Cheever 258-260). As Irene listens to the radio more and more, she becomes depressed and less confident in herself and her marriage. Jim starts to realize her change in daily life. She starts to question their marriage, causing Jim to bring up they’re not so perfect and their faults (Cheever 260-262). He sends out the radio to be fixed again, it costs a large amount, but it’s finally repaired, Irene and Jim’s Marriage isn’t though (Cheever
The parents, Jim and Irene, love listening to music, specifically on their radio (Cheever 253). When the radio breaks down one day though, it causes Jim to have to buy a new one (Cheever 253, 254). Irene is immediately shocked and does not like the new radio. One day while Irene is listening to music as Jim is at work, she begins to hear an interference come through the radio station. As she listens more, she discovers it’s her surrounding neighbors in the apartment building (Cheever 254). This scares Irene to immediately shutting off the radio until Jim comes home. Her husband contacts the person he purchased the radio from and demands they repair it (Cheever 255). The radio is apparently fixed, but as Irene and Jim are listening to it once again one afternoon, they start to hear the neighbors through the music again (Cheever 255-256). Irene becomes immediately startled and turns off the radio, believing they can hear her and Jim’s conversations also (Cheever 256-257). Over the course of the next few days, Irene finds herself drawn to listening in on her neighbor’s lives, dedicating herself to spying on them (Cheever 258-260). As Irene listens to the radio more and more, she becomes depressed and less confident in herself and her marriage. Jim starts to realize her change in daily life. She starts to question their marriage, causing Jim to bring up they’re not so perfect and their faults (Cheever 260-262). He sends out the radio to be fixed again, it costs a large amount, but it’s finally repaired, Irene and Jim’s Marriage isn’t though (Cheever