Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Furthermore, Miss Dent never achieves any real violence in Cheever's story, which raises serious questions as to her true level of agency -- especially in a work by Cheever (Facknitz 346). Even the appearance that she is somehow the more active of the two major characters in the story, as well as her sense of control, are misleading to one degree or another. Blake manages to dodge and avoid her for quite some time; he is not docile or impotent, but rather acts out of expediency -- and fear, yes, but the fear leads to the expediency -- in eventually doing as he is told. Miss Dent has actually been far more at his mercy than she his, and even her actions in the story were caused by him.
In this light, Miss Dent must be seen as a foil to Mr. Blake, and not the other way around. She serves a function of illumination and possibility for his character that he does not provide to her; she is a device to disrupt the life of this despicably modern everyman. She even alludes to as much herself at one point: "I've been thinking about devils. I mean if there are devils in the world, if there are people in the world who represent evil, is it our duty to exterminate them?" (Cheever 33). In asking this, Miss Dent is essentially asking if there is such a thing as true agency, of if she is merely doing what is required of her. This contrasts sharply to Mr. Blake, who has...
The choices he makes are predictable, unimaginative, and banal, but they are his choices. Society and circumstance might not have left Mr. Blake a very wide perspective, but he consciously shuts himself things off to anything that displeases his sensibilities -- his son's friend, his wife, his secretary -- while Miss Dent is unable to avoid them.
Ultimately, this story is about Mr. Blake's inability to see a world beyond his own needs and desires. He has no apparent concern or awareness of anyone else at the start of the story, and the reader is left to wonder if he has actually developed this awareness at the end of the story. Though Miss Dent seems to have traveled a definite arc, the reader knows that she is still an unbalanced an unemployable woman; this episode was far more important and formative for Blake than for Dent. Where Blake lack any real purpose, he retained his sense of agency. In contrast, Miss Dent is imbued with purpose, but it is again Blake's instead of her own.
Works Cited
Cheever, John. "The Five Forty Eight." The New Yorker, 10 April 1954, pp. 28-34.
Facknitz, Mark. "Missing the Train: Raymond Carver's Sequel to John Cheever's 'The Five Forty Eight.'" Studies in Short Fiction, pp. 345-7.
Works Cited
Cheever, John. "The Five Forty Eight." The New Yorker, 10 April 1954, pp. 28-34.
Facknitz, Mark. "Missing the Train: Raymond Carver's Sequel to John Cheever's 'The Five Forty Eight.'" Studies in Short Fiction, pp. 345-7.
Character "Little Miss Sunshine" Case Study of Character "Little Miss Sunshine" Course Code The film that we are going to focus on in this essay is "Little Miss Sunshine." The film was released in 2006. It was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt. The film stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, and Abigail Breslin. Abigail Breslin was the lead character of this film as she played
The heat is oppressive and because of that heat Holloway had to endure "an overpowering stench" in the birthing room. Walking into that room on a day that was probably over 100 degrees Holloway (p. 6) said the building "was like an oven, baking all the secretions [from pregnant and post-partum women] into a rank casserole" (p. 6). Holloway said she felt like she was "drowning in the smell of
During the survey of participants, the researcher investigates: Thai online game players' personal perceptions of online games; significant reasons that motivate the participants to play online games; factors that motivate participants to choose an online game; participants' opinions of digital society Affects of playing online games in real world. Study Objectives Objective 1 Conduct a thorough review of literature relating to online games and online game players in general, seeking specific information related to Thailand but also
Antitrust and Intellectual Property Antitrust Law Remedies in Intellectual Property Cases In any research paper it is important to first define the terms used prominently in order to make sure that the reader understands what is being said. In this case, the two terms that require definition are antitrust and intellectual property. According to a definition from Cornell University Law School "Trusts and monopolies are concentrations of economic power in the hands
Gertrude Stein Indeed. Gertrude Stein wrote for "herself" for many years prior to ever being noticed as the marvelously talented and versatile writer that she was. That fact was a reality simply because she did not have the opportunity for many years to publish the work she was so tirelessly putting out. Meanwhile, her legacy today is that of an extraordinarily insightful and respected woman of letters, an innovator, an elite
He then went to work for the family business, lived in a nice home and drove a nice car, but had no reported income. Since the birth of their child, who is now a teenager, he has contributed virtually nothing to the child's support, though his mother has established a college fund for the child. Research One area of research that has influenced my view of social justice is the research