Good vs. Evil in John Cheevers The Five-Forty-Eight Essay -- Five-For

Good vs. Evil in John Cheevers The Five-Forty-EightJohn Cheever was an award winning American author of the twentieth century. His work often possessed psychological and religious vision with central themes of sin, deception, and redemption (Kennedy, 551). Cheevers short story entitled The Five-Forty-Eight portrays a struggle of good vs. bad. Following the themes of sin, deception, and redemption, we read of a green woman (good) seeking revenge for the evil done to her. Through the course of the story the reader can distinguish between the traits of good and evil. The Websters dictionary defines evil as that which is morally wrong. Blake has some distinct morality issues. Blake, the evil force in the story, possesses some character flaws that are indicative of the force he portrays. He is self-absorbed, manipulative, and shallow and has isolated himself from his friends and family. Blake sacrifices his relationships to give into his sexual desires, which is our first indication of his evil streak. He sleeps with Mrs. Dent, his secretary, and proceeds to fire her. As a result of Blake?s many one night of stands, in which he manipulates women to sleep with him, he loses his wife, son, and friends. He is so incredibly shallow and self-involved that he married his wife for her debaucher alone he has no regard to her in her old age. He does not even pretend to love his wife ?the physical charms that had been her only attraction were gone? (554). His neighbors and friends hear of the evil Blake has done to his own wife, and as a result they reject Blake as a friend. His self-involved attitude prevents him from caring that he has no companions. When his neighbor, Mrs. Compton, cannot give him a genuine smile, we r... ...relationship. Cheever?s preoccupation with sin and deception is played out in the story. Works Cited Cheever, John. ?The Five-Forty-Eight.? Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. eighth ed. New York Longman, 2002. 550-561. Chesnick, Eugene. ?The Domesticated Stroke of John Cheever.? Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 7 of 46. Detroit, MI Gale Research Company, 1980. 48. Oates, Joyce Carol. Article on John Cheever. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 11 of 46. Detroit, MI Gale Research Company, 1980. 119-120. The New Webster?s Dictionary. New York Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1990. 135. Tyler, Anne. Article on John Cheever. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 11 of 46. Detroit, MI Gale Research Company, 1980. 121.