Faculty of Arts,
Chulalongkorn University
Reunion
(1962)
John Cheever
(May
27, 1912 – June 18, 1982)
"Reunion" Notes
This short story was first
published in The New Yorker in 1962.
Grand Central Station: or
Grand Central is a common name for Grand Central Terminal, the busiest
railway station in New York City and an iconic landmark since its
completion in 1913.
Adirondacks:
the Cape:
Kellner:
Garçon: French for "boy"; also used
to call waiters
Cameriere:
chop-chop: slang for quickly
Beefeater Gibsons: A Gibson is a
kind of martini, a cocktail. When made using Beefeater gin, it's called a
Beefeater Gibson.
Master of the hounds: the
conductor of a foxhunt
|
- foxhunting (Encyclopædia Britannica)
the chase of a fox by horsemen with a pack of hounds. In
England, the home of the sport, foxhunting dates from at least
the 15th century. In its inception, it was probably an adjunct
to stag and hare hunting, with the same hounds used to chase
each quarry.
[...]
The sport often followed wherever the British Empire took root.
Traditional procedure is still observed and the proper kit
(clothing) worn. A fox hunt is conducted by the master, and, in
theory, all who take part in it do so at the master’s
invitation, even when they pay for the privilege. The hounds,
generally 20 to 30 couples (matched pairs), are controlled by
the huntsman, who may be the master but is generally the senior
paid servant of the hunt. Two or three whippers-in assist in
reconnaissance and in keeping the hounds together as a pack.
Master, huntsman, and whippers-in take precedence over all other
riders to hounds. The huntsman controls hounds by voice, his or
her calls being known as cheers, and by a horn—a copper tube
about 8 inches (20 cm) long that produces two notes of great
carrying and penetrating quality.
[...]
The foxhunting uniform is usually a scarlet (“pink”) coat with a
white stock (cravat) and black velvet cap for the master,
huntsman, and whippers-in. Followers of sufficient prestige are
invited to wear scarlet, with the individual buttons of the
hunt, and a top hat (the velvet cap being strictly the
prerogative of those actively engaged in the control of hounds,
though by modern usage women may also wear it). Other followers
wear black coats, with top hats or bowlers.
- "Master," Fox
Hunting Terms, Harvard Fox Hounds
This almost always refers to the Master of Fox Hounds (MFH), the
person responsible for the hunting and the organization of the
country. As long as you are in the hunt field, the Master’s word
is “law”. At the meet, this is the person in charge and
responsible for the entire proceedings. The MFH is the host,
making sure everyone is having a good day, and the chief of
protocol, making sure rules and traditions are upheld, and the
safety officer, making sure everyone is under control and
behaving courteously and kindly.
- Anthony Trollope, "The
Master of Hounds," Hunting
Sketches (1865)
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Tallyho:
domestic: house servant
Buon giorno: in Italian, literally,
"good day"; used for morning and early afternoon
Per favore...poco
vermut: in Italian, literally, "Please, may we have two American
cocktails, strong, strong. A lot of gin, a little vermouth."
Vogliamo...Subito:
in Italian, literally, "We want two American cocktails. Immediately."
Vada all'inferno: Italian, "go to
hell"
yellow journalism: a derogatory
term used to refer to reporting that aims to sell with exciting language and
details rather than to provide factual information or a responsible,
thoughtful, well-researched story
get a rise out of: to make someone
angry
Study Questions
-
Compare
the narrator's references to his father at the
beginning of the story and at the end. What insights
about the son and the father do the descriptions give?
How does the forthcoming language of the beginning
convey a different feeling and attitude toward the
father from the stunted and withheld ending? For
example, what do the expressive "my flesh and blood,"
"He was a big, good-looking man," or "I was terribly
happy to see him again" reveal about the speaker? By
contrast, what does the matter-of-fact final sentence
"'Goodbye, Daddy,' I said, and I went down the stairs
and got my train, and that was the last time I saw my
father" reveal about his emotions?
-
What
effect do the father's interactions with waiters at
various restaurants have on his image initially
created by the son-narrator's anticipation of him?
- The
closing phrase is almost a repeat of the beginning
phrase of the story. How differently does "and that was
the last time I saw my father" sound compared to the
beginning? What meaning(s) does it have after the
witnessed reunion that it did not have when the story
opened? What different moods or tones do the two
practically identical phrases carry in their different
positions in the narrative?
- What
does the father's behavior at the various dining
establishments say about the kind of father he is? In
what ways does his interaction with the different
restaurant clerks speak about his relationship with his
son?
- Though
the story is told in the first person from the point of
view of the son, we do not get his direct quote until
the end of the work. Why do you think the son is
voiceless throughout most of the story even though this
reunion is supposed to be about him and his father,
meeting, catching up with each other, getting to know
one another?
- Look
up the word "tallyho" in a good dictionary like Merriam-Webster,
American Heritage, or Oxford.
How does its meaning explain the father's usage of the
phrase "Master of the hounds" and the restaurant's decor
and staff uniform?
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Sample Student
Responses to John Cheever's "Reunion"
Study Question:
Response 1:
Student Name
2202234
Introduction to the Study of English Literature
Acharn Sorn
Nangsue
June 21, 2010
Reading
Response 1
Title
Text.
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Media
|
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- Blake Bailey on John Cheever, The
Center for Fiction (2011 lecture by Cheever's biographer;
sound not too good)
|
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- Celebrating The
Stories of John Cheever (2012; video clips of
introduction, readings and commentary by three writers;
sound not good)
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|
|
John Cheever |
- Annette Grant, "John
Cheever, The Art of Fiction No. 62," The
Paris Review 67 (1976 interview)
- Tom Vitale, "Revisiting
John Cheever's Suburban Unrest," NPR (2009; audio
clip, 6:22 min.; includes excerpt from biography and from
Cheever's journal)
- Michiko Kakutani, "John
Cheever Is Dead at 70; Novelist Won Pulitzer Prize,"
The New York Times
(1982 obituary)
- Don Swaim, Interview
with Susan Cheever, Wired for Books (1984; audio
clip, 17:12 min.)
- Rachel Cooke, "The
Demons That Drove John Cheever," The
Guardian (2009)
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Reference
Cheever,
John. "Reunion."
The New Yorker. 27 October
1962. 45.
Further Reading
Cheever,
Benjamin, ed. The Letters of John
Cheever. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988. Print.
[CL 813.52
C515L]
Cheever, John. The
Enormous Radio and Other Stories. New York: Harper and Row, 1965.
Print.
[CL C515E]
Cheever, John. The
Stories of John Cheever. New York: Knopf, 1996. Print.
[IIC American
Studies 813.5
CS]
Cheever, John. Thirteen
Uncollected Stories by John Cheever. Ed. Franklin H. Dennnis.
Chicago: Academy Chicago, 1994. Print.
[Arts Library
81]
Donaldson,
Scott. John Cheever: A Biography.
New York: Random House, 1988. Print.
[Arts Library PS3505.H6428Z64
D676J 1988]
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