Reunion By John Cheever
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Reunion by John Cheever was one of those fictions where after you put it down you wonder why one of the characters acted the way they did in the story. This holds very true for the father in Reunion. Throughout the entire story his attitude towards others didnt change at all even though his son was standing there with him the entire time. Its a perfect example though of how some traits in parents will always transfer to the kids, but it takes experience to be able to change them.
The example the father portrays in the story clearly shows that some people just are not considerate of others. To go through so many different restaurants like that, and not even begin to realize that something he did was wrong really tells you something about his character. It almost seems like he is lost inside his own little world and no one is able to understand how or why he is the way he is. Even his son, Charlie, notices it the first second he lays eyes on him by saying “as soon as I saw him I felt that he was my father, my flesh and blood, my future and my doom.” (Cheever 232). In this quote, Charlie clearly notices that his father was something he never wanted to become. Although he knew eventually the day would come where he would be like him.
The simple fact that parents pass off certain traits to their children is true to some extent. There will always be genetic similarities between them but it terms of personality; that is a double edged sword. On one edge you have the children who want something more than to be like their parents. They look up to them, follow in their footsteps, and eventually grow up to be just like them in almost every aspect. Then there is the other edge; the complete opposite to the children who want to be like their parents. These children are what we call rebels. These are children who do whatever they can to try to not be like their parents. Although physical traits are unavoidable, personality is one thing than can be changed. This double edged sword makes up the idea that children have a choice.
Relating the father and Charlie to the one edge of this “genetic personality” sword would prove useless because we never truly know whether or not Charlie wants to be like his father. The only thing that could remotely hint to Charlie wanting to be like his father would be when he said “I knew that when I was grown I would be something like him; I would have to plan my campaigns within his limitations.” (Cheever 232). This quote can be taken in two ways. One way is that he is happy that he is going to be somewhat like his father, or he is upset because he is going to be like him. From the looks of the fiction writing, he doesnt want to end up like him, but he accepts the fact that there is a possibility of it happening. Although the father never seems to care about how his son is doing, Charlie seems to care an awful lot about his father. Even in the most embarrassing of situations he just keeps quiet and obeys him like nothing happened. Any boy that age would most likely want to mention something to their father asking why he is acting in such a rude manner. This is one reason why Charlie may want to be like his father, but hes not entirely sure about it.
The other edge of the “genetic personality” sword would prove extremely useful in this fiction writing. Again, we never know how Charlie really feels about his father, but we get the impression that he doesnt want to be like him. In one line from the story Charlie says “I went down the stairs and got my train, and that was the last time I saw my father.” (Cheever 233). This quote vaguely lets us know that Charlie never planned to see his father again. Whether it was from different circumstances or not, the thought still remains that he didnt even want to be near his father after that fateful day. This again goes back to the child who wants to rebel against their parents. Although Charlie didnt necessarily rebel against his father; he still made it quite clear that he knew his father was wrong. By calling his father “my doom” shows that he may not be able to avoid being like him, but he does know that what we may become is not right. The only reason Charlie did not speak up when they were in the restaurants was most likely because he didnt want to come down to his fathers level. If he was to say something, the father might have started yelling which would have caused an even larger scene. Charlie was merely being cautious in a way as to not disturb his fathers bantering and just hope for his train to come. This is one reason why Charlie does not want to be like his father, but again, he doesnt have much control over what will happen.
The father on the other hand is also part of this double edged sword, but in a different way. The father in the fiction has his ups and his downs with the downs clearly outweighing the ups. He shows compassion towards Charlie and yet he doesnt even have the decency to just sit down and talk with his son. We get an idea that his personality may be a big problem because of this line, ” He was a stranger to meЖmy mother divorced him three years ago and I hadnt been with him since” (Cheever 232). His lack of manners and rudeness could have been the reason why his marriage fell apart with Charlies mother. This type