Just because a man has polished shoes and woolens, does it give him the right to be impolite and boisterous to other people? Why does a man think that being hostile and arrogant to other people makes a good impression on your son, that you have not seen for over three years?
Most people think that success comes with being arrogant and malicious to others. Once you become successful it gives you the right to act like a fool. Is that really the case, and what is the perspective from other people?
These are some of the questions being asked in the short story “Reunion” by John Cheever first published in 1962 and later included in “The stories of John Cheever” in 1978.
In the short story the narrator is the son, Charlie, who is telling about his reunion with his father. The short story is being told as a flashback since Charlie is telling about the last time he saw his father, and it is written in past tense.
Charlie was really looking forward to seeing his father, who he had not seen for over three years. When his father arrived, Charlie was really proud to be in company with his father. “I hoped that someone would see us together. I wished that we could be photographed. I wanted some record of our having been together.” (p. 1. l. 17) His fathers’ company developed into bad company, and Charlies’ view on his father changed in a heartbeat.
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