Verified Document

Invasion Of Privacy As An Term Paper

.." But the most important point that Cheever extends to the audience through this story was that Irene herself is the hypocrite, an individual not unlike her neighbors. This truth was only addressed at the end of the story through the character of Jim, Irene's husband. While the radio acted as the "mirror" to other people's souls, it was only until Jim's burst of anger ("Why are you so Christly all of a sudden?") that readers were given a glimpse of the true character of Irene even before the enormous radio had influenced her life. Irene as a 'cold-hearted, selfish' individual was never reflected in the story until towards its end. The radio also acted as a "mirror" for Irene, making her realize that she's just like some of her hypocrite members. Through the issue of invasion of privacy, Cheever successfully criticized society for its evident hypocrisy during his time, wherein immorality and cruelty abound in the privacy of people's homes despite their seemingly good disposition and character in the public eye.

Schickler in "Smoker," meanwhile, embodied invasion of privacy as an issue between Nicole and Douglas, the protagonists of the story. In Nicole's character, readers saw an individual who consciously violated Douglas' right to his privacy....

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Douglas, meanwhile, was the individual who was for a while incapable of accepting the fact that there are still people (like Nicole) who would willingly invade other people's privacy. Irene in "Radio" had obviously been greatly affected by the reflection she had about her real character, leading to the possible break-up of her relationship with her husband Jim. Douglas in 'Smoker," however, had shown disbelief at Nicole's steely admittance of her invasion of his privacy; however, his disbelief was not so much about Nicole's offense but her argument that Douglas was a lonely man who was "just killing time," waiting for the woman he will be marrying.
Without Nicole's help -- that is, her invasion of Douglas' privacy -- Douglas would not know the true state of his existence as a supposedly peaceful and contented individual. It was Nicole's offense that laid bare the truth that not only is he lonely and bored in life, but he was actually contemplating the fact that one day, a woman like Nicole would come and hopefully bring him out of the monotonous existence that he lived. Though the story ended with no certainty, readers were at least shown a resolute Douglas who is now capable of handling the truth about himself and his future life with Nicole.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now