John Cheever As A Novelist

In the history of contemporary American literature, John Cheever is not prominent and famous compared with such writers as J.D. Salinger, Saul Bellow and John Updike. Because Cheever paid more attention to the writing of short stories at the beginning of his literary life and most of them were published mainly in New Yorker magazine that is regarded as a recreational one. So, critics put the focus of their research on his collections of short stories, calling him "the American Chekhov". However, his five novels were almost neglected; few of critics have attempted to analyze them by relating to theories and Cheever's personal experiences. The ones we have at present are only brief introductions. Therefore, the author will try to analyze his two novels The Wapshot Chronicle (1957) and Falconer (1977) by consulting mainly the psychoanalytical theory represented by Freud, Brecht's theory of estrangement and Cheever's relationship with his parents, brother and wife, so as to explain how Cheever's life experiences are reflected clearly in the two novels. Also, the thesis will point out the profound social significance and theme of the novels on the basis of their creative background. The thesis is divided into five parts.The introduction demonstrates the purpose of this thesis and tries to establish a general framework for it.Chapter One presents a brief introduction to the life of Cheever related to thesis, the contents and the creative background of the novels, thus laying foundation for the further development of the thesis.Chapter Two provides a detailed analysis of The Wapshot Chronicle from the angle of psychoanalysis and theory of estrangement, pointing out in the novel,Cheever designs family background and life experiences similar to his own and he hopes to express personal feelings and perceptions on life. Actually, his novel is the rational sublimation for his real life and shows deeply the relationship between author and literary works according to Freud's opinion. Also, this novel shows his concern for the survival of modern human beings; although they are banished from the paradise, they can still reconstruct it and be saved with the help of love.Chapter Three deals with Falconer and illustrates how the protagonist's life highly resembles that of Cheever's by the combination of Freud's ideas and theory of estrangement. At the same time, this chapter gives a brief comment on the theme and social meaning of the novel to expose the protagonist's process from crime to final rebirth. The publication of it after Cheever's resurrection demonstrates his profound understanding on the relationship among crime, punishment and redemption and his firm conviction of human being's possibility of getting rid of desire and the meaninglessness of modern life.The conclusion summarizes Cheever's experiences as a man and his literary creations as a novelist. His novels are deeply influenced by his personal life and are the minor of his repressed wishes, which exactly proves Freud's theory: the biography of author is closely related with his/her literary creations. Besides, this part analyzes whether his two novels are the simple combination of short stories. As a contemporary writer, Cheever makes great achievements both in the field of short story and novel.