The Stories of John Cheever

In John Cheever’s short story, The Five-Forty-Eight, resides a man dubbed “Mr. Blake”. Although Blake does not overcome any type of strenuous challenge, he seems to be exceedingly stressed and agitated. He’s not nice to anybody, no matter who it is (it could be his wife or his co-workers). He uses them for his own benefit, and even then, he is never satisfied. He’s barely home, but when he is, he forces his wife to not talk to him for weeks on end. Mr. Blake, who is a white-collar worker, hires…

his fingers claw my neck, and I sign, I sign..." Mary went to testify how Abigail and the girl had lied about witchcraft and Abigail was being dramatic and said Mary herself is working for the devil. Since she was under pressure she wrongly accused John Proctor for being the man beside the devil. In act 3 Giles talks to the witchcraft expert about his wife's weird behavior. “ I never had no wife that be so taken with books, and I thought to find the cause of it, d’y’see but it were no…

Character in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” In “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses the setting and the character of the protagonist, Neddy Merrill, as the main devices to highlight the theme of the different four stages of human life. “The Swimmer” is a short story by John Cheever. It was published on July 18, 1964. The story reflects the author’s analysis of the main character, Neddy Merrill. The protagonist decides to swim across the neighbors’ pools along the way to get home. In the early of the…

master of the victimized girls, tainted heart while purity resides within Elizabeth Proctor, a loyal wife to John Proctor. Tension heightens as both women fight for one man’s love.…

John Proctor was known to play a huge role during the witch trials in Salem. Many would classify him has a tragic hero because of all of the characteristics he has. John is a tragic hero because he had outstanding qualities that came with trouble, flaws that wounded him deeply, and a reversal that affected the story. John Proctor is a tragic hero because of his outstanding quality of defending what he loved: his religion and wife. When Hale came to the Proctor house to question them about not…

and to get closer to John Proctor. However, not everyone was so affected by the town hysteria. Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John, is a prime example of a character who kept themselves calm, cool, and collected during the time. Elizabeth is not a huge part of the story at first, because the entire first act is Miller introducing…

her husband John. Miller introduces Elizabeth Proctor as a woman with an unfaithful husband. Abigail Williams calls her “sickly,” and a “cold, sniveling woman” (1246-1247) before she has one line of dialogue in the play. The term “cold” is a motif in this work of literature, meaning unfavorable or dreadful. Elizabeth is never truly cold. She is simply sensible. Elizabeth does not lie, and looks to succeed in her life as wife, mother, and Christian woman. The affair between Abby and John deeply…

It is portrayed in almost all of the forms previously mentioned in this one act. To begin with, when Mary Warren is in agreement with John to testify against the other girls, she is terrified. She is reluctant to testify because she knows that Abigail and the girls will come back at her with vengeance so powerful that it will drive her to imprisonment and insanity. Miller showed that…

“Witchcraft!” is an accusation often heard during the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. is a dramatized story of the trials. The Crucible closely connects with Groupthink, written by Irving Janis. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that often occurs in a group of people that desire of conformity resulting in unreasonable decision-making outcome. Symptoms of groupthink manifested in The Crucible are rationale,…

fact not completely accurate. Miller alters the story line slightly to give the whirl of events a motive. The motive Miller chose to use was an affair between Abigail Williams and John Proctor. This affair lead to ABigail obsessing over JOhn and resulting in dangerous tactics to get what she wants. This is why Abigail Williams is the one to mostly blame. Abigail is the one to mostly blame for the events of the Crucible. Abigail’s affair with John is partly what started the whole thing and is…