The five forty eight short story. The Five Forty Eight Analysis 2022-11-08

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The Five-Forty-Eight is a short story written by John Cheever in 1953. The story follows the character of Mr. Blake, a successful businessman who is on his way to work on a normal weekday morning. As Mr. Blake travels by train, he becomes increasingly agitated by the presence of a woman named Miss Dent, who seems to be stalking him.

At first, Mr. Blake tries to brush off Miss Dent's behavior as coincidence, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that she is indeed following him. Mr. Blake becomes increasingly paranoid and obsessed with Miss Dent, wondering what she could possibly want from him. He becomes convinced that she is some sort of messenger of doom, sent to ruin his life.

As Mr. Blake's fear and anxiety grow, so does his sense of entitlement and self-importance. He becomes convinced that Miss Dent is trying to ruin his life because he is a successful businessman, and he begins to feel that he is above the rules and norms of society. He becomes more and more ruthless in his pursuit of success, willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead.

As the story nears its climax, Mr. Blake confronts Miss Dent in a fit of rage, demanding to know what she wants from him. It is only at this point that the true nature of Miss Dent's actions is revealed. She is not a messenger of doom, but rather a woman who has been deeply hurt and humiliated by Mr. Blake in the past. She has been following him in an attempt to confront him about his behavior, and to try and find some sense of closure.

The Five-Forty-Eight is a powerful and thought-provoking short story that explores themes of paranoia, entitlement, and the consequences of our actions. It shows how fear and anxiety can cloud our judgment and lead us down a destructive path, and how even the most successful and powerful among us can be brought down by our own mistakes and shortcomings.

The Five Forty Eight Analysis

the five forty eight short story

Blake is tongue-tied and the reader is left wondering what direction the story will take as Miss Dent gains full control of the situation. Even Blake, who projects an ideal image in order to cover up his flaws, based on his thoughts, can still be considered as a real character because he speaks his mind. However, although Blake had been faced with the knowledge of his undoing, he gets from the dirt, puts on his hat and walks home while his self-deceptions ring his mind. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Dent, a young woman of crushingly low self esteem, expressed her affection for Blake by presenting him with a rose, which he discarded in the wastebasket. Blake sacrifices his relationships to give into his sexual desires, which is our first indication of his evil streak. We know that when Miss Dent was working for Blake, she invited him over for a drink, they slept together, and the next day Blake fired her.

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John Cheever: The Five

the five forty eight short story

According to the paper, it is quite conceivable that her intended goal was to place herself in a position of power over Mr. Blake tries to make a good impression on his neighbors by faking concern on learning that Miss Dent had been ill. Blake picks himself up and walks home. Find Out How UKEssays. She has noted that during her recent weeks of bed-ridden despondency, all she could think about was planning this night's events; Blake's domination of her had provided an insurmountable barrier, and her control over Blake propels her past it. Morace states that after his reading on "The Five-Forty-Eight" he found it to be close to another story also written by John Cheever called, "O Youth and Beauty". However, the protagonist is faced with internal conflicts such as where he feels guilty when he bypassed Miss Dent for the first time on the elevator.

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The Five

the five forty eight short story

Redemption is usually the last step in a story that contains some sort of evil. Even the one moment of passion is undercut by the fact that he wants to get rid of the woman as soon as possible. In one of the flashbacks of the story, Blake remembers his many indiscretions with ease. Morace states that Blake has undergone a change based on this experience he had with Miss Dent saying that this is the first time that Blake experiences regret. He achieves this by employing the use of dialogue in the narrative to break the monotony of first-person narration.

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Questions in the short story The Five

the five forty eight short story

Now that she is old, it seems as if the only thing that attracted him was her physical beauty. It is all connected. She tells him to put his face in the dirt, Blake does so and begins to weep. She urges Blake to read a letter she has prepared for him. He admitted that he committed a lapse in judgment when he hired Miss Dent, whom he knew spent an unusually long time in the hospital. He then introduces another image theory about the ride home on the train.

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The five

the five forty eight short story

However, this all accumulates to his behavior being as open as the store-front window according to Martin. Blake and so earn back the self-respect that was lost when he slept with her and then fired her the next day. What Morace says about Miss Dent is that with her not killing Blake she discovered some kindness and saneness within herself that could be put to use. She invited Blake to her apartment where they had a drink and then had sex. If it were not present, then sin would have no foundation. Although sin is something apparent in this story, it is something that is also present everywhere. Miss Dent, having fulfilled her revenge, explains that she can now wash her hands of Blake and departs.

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"The Five Forty Eight"

the five forty eight short story

The author uses diction to describe how uncomfortable the protagonist is in every aspect of the story. Blake shows his redemption by first feeling a sense of regret. Miss Dent symbolizes the misunderstood and isolated people in society. In what ways are roles reversed in the train scene? Through the character Blake, Cheever uses irony, imagery, and flashbacks to stage this story in order to demonstrate that actions have consequences, but not all who experience aftermath, even negative aftermath, change from it. Morace gave his views on "The Five-Forty-Eight" in his Author Biography on John Cheever.

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The Five Forty

the five forty eight short story

Cite this Analytical Essay: APA Format. Normally, today people who speak out such words are considered insane as is the case of Miss Dent. This has the effect of making the story interesting. Oftentimes, he looked down on these people as inferiors, which is best shown when he constantly criticized his neighbor, Mr. She sets out to change Blake and make him human, instead of evil.

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The Five

the five forty eight short story

The paper addresses Mr. Blake tries to find his way home. Compton, his next door neighbor and confidante to Blake's wife, Louise, is privy to the Blake family marital discord. Martin explains that this illustrates a "false-front emptiness" where Miss Dent thinks Blake's life is full of friendships, money, and a large and loving family but in reality sleeps in a room by himself, torments his wife, and all but abandoned his son to a neighbor. Martin explains that the first and third ad, that depict a woman and a man toasting wine and a Hawaiian dancer; show visual manifestations of Blake's and Miss Dent's emotional desolation and psychological dysfunction according to Martin. Putting this definition in the context of the story, there is nothing questionable and disreputable about the residents of Shady Hill. Blake and Miss Dent prior to her being fired as his secretary.

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An Analysis of the Short Story The Five

the five forty eight short story

Someone calls him, and it is Miss Dent. He would rather avoid the obvious so as to get his way in the end. Miss Dent is deceived into thinking that Blake might actually care about her. But, the cups were empty of coffee, the flowers were dead in the vase, and the guests had not come. Regret is really all he can do.

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(PDF) Lexical Cohesion in John Cheever's Short Story the Five Forty

the five forty eight short story

Cheever Sin is something present in every aspect of life. The Five Forty Eight Short Story. Although she is depicted as a crazy person in the story, she still has the capacity to think deeper than most people. While married he has had a one night stand with Miss Dent, his secretary, and then he had her fired. Miss Dent questions whether she should kill him or not. Without deception being involved in the story, sin would have no place. Then, the paper addressess Miss Dent's threat on Mr.

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