Literary Elements in The Wrysons by John Cheever Free Essay Example, 1000 words

The paper explores detail as one of the literary elements of The Wrysons . Details may either be used to deepen the impression of the scene or to bring some contrasting object/situation into the setting. Cheever s writing is rich in details due to its connection to place (a quiet suburb with upzoning at the front of all troubles) and the nature of the conflict (it s a merely psychological conflict coming from the inner traumatic fixations of the characters on some situations). Details are often ironic, such as garlic smell in the description of an unknown foreigner cited above. Nevertheless, the author often uses them as a sign of disorder, of some sad or terrifying event. The medicine cabinet is the detail that cumulates the disastrous atmosphere in Irene s dream: She opened the medicine cabinet, the one place in the house that the Wrysons, in their passion for neatness, had not put in order (Cheever 319: par. 4). The cabinet contains medication for Irene s daughter, pills and po tion bottles had been being stuffed there for years. Mother opens this place just in the apotheosis of the disaster in her dream just to find out that in this emergency place, there is also a disorder. We will write a custom essay sample on Literary Elements in The Wrysons by John Cheever or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Its sweetness (that makes it a sensual detail), its predestination to be thrown away convey the mood of both main characters. When the cake gets burned, they feel free from the sweet web of their illusions. However, as a cake is not a pathetic detail, the reader gets free also by the very ironic and yet sympathizing tone of the story.