Nicole Harlan

Professor Sanders
ENGL 263
26 February 2016
Journal Response C
While reading The Enormous Radio by John Cheever, I was intrigued by the character of
Irene. I could not figure out her character until the ending and her motives with the radio were
unclear. I did not like Irene in the beginning since she seemed selfish and had everything in her
life together they way she wanted. She only cared about herself and the enjoyment and pleasure
that the new radio could bring her. I did not hold a high value for Irene, especially when she
found out the radio did actually entertain her, with other peoples lives. Whenever she said, See
if you can get those people in 18-C, it made me have even more disrespect for her. She was a
character that I could relate to or even want to relate to.
Only in the end when she was distraught over a man beating his wife that she showed
some emotion other than what she wanted for herself. However, this was short lived as she
begged her husband to tell her that they are not like their neighbors. The husband, Jim, seemed to
only agree with her to placate her and give her a comfortable life. The truth comes out when he
admits to having life troubles just like the people they listened in on throughout the story have. I
did not care for Jim as he did not have a large part in the story. Although, at the end I liked how
he stood up for himself and told his wife that she has her own problems to worry about. His line
of, Why are you so Christly all of a sudden? made me feel admiration for Jim as he finally
stood up to his wife and made her see that she is no different than everybody else.

Throughout all of the texts since the beginning of the semester, this is one of the readings
that made the most sense to me and I wanted to find out how the characters ended up. The text
was very interesting, even though it had a basic and simple plot line. Even though I did not enjoy
the characters at all, or relate to them, I enjoyed the plot and how it ended the most. Irene
received what she deserved, and Im glad that her husband reminded her that she is not as
Christly as she believes herself to be.
As Jim stated near the end of the text, she did not need to listen to the depressing state of
their neighbors lives. Even though I did not particularly like Jim, I can relate to him more than
Irene. His statement of, And what if they can hear us? Who cares? particularly speaks to me.
No one in life really cares about anyone else, since they are too busy worrying about their own
lives and personal problems.