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Goodbye, My Brother

January 01, 1970

"Goodbye, My Brother" is a short story by John Cheever, first published in The New Yorker (August 25, 1951), and collected in The Enormous Radio and Other Stories (1953).[1] The work also appears in The Stories of John Cheever (1978).

"Goodbye, My Brother"
Short story by John Cheever
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Publication
Published inThe New Yorker
Publication dateAugust 25, 1951

Plot edit

"Goodbye, My Brother" records the apparently final reunion of the upper-middle class Pommeroy family at their collectively owned Massachusetts sea-side property.

Two brothers, a sister and their widowed mother are gathered at the summer residence, and though they meet infrequently they retain affectionate bonds with each other. The third and youngest of the brothers, Lawrence, is an acerbic lawyer who has little in common with his siblings and who harshly judges the moral shortcomings of each member of the family.

The story emerges as a struggle between the puritanical outlook held by Lawrence, and the more tolerant and life-affirming values of his mother and siblings.[2][3]

Publication history edit

Originally published by The New Yorker on August 25, 1951, Cheever was emphatic that "Goodbye, My Brother" appear as the leading story in the 1978 collection of his work The Stories of John Cheever, though he acknowledged it violated the chronological framework of the volume.[4][5]

Critical assessment edit

Widely regarded as one of Cheever's short fiction "masterpieces" the story is among his most anthologized work.[6][7][8]

Literary critic Lynne Waldeland observes that "Cheever is seldom listed among the major innovators in fiction in the twentieth century and seems at first glance to be quite traditional in form." but adds that "Goodbye, My Brother" represents a significant advance in the development of Cheever's writing, in which "genre-expanding experimentation takes place."[9]

Theme edit

The subject of family relationships, and more specifically the conflicts between two male siblings, is the single most common theme in Cheever's novels, and appears in many of his short stories. "Goodbye, My Brother" is perhaps the most notable of these.[10][11]

The story is an examination of the irreconcilable conflict between the "bleak, dogmatic severity" of the Pommeroy's youngest son, Lawrence, and the enlightened humanism exhibited by the rest of the family, especially its women.[12]

More than one critic has discerned a fratricidal Cain and Abel-like struggle in the story, though here the roles are inverted, in which "the 'bad' brother is actually the victim of violence."[13][14] [15]

"In story after story and novel after novel, Cheever repostulated in modern terms a romantic version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's conflicts with the Puritans' fear of the body and their insistent demonization of the powers of nature… 'Goodbye, My Brother' becomes the first of many of Cheever's early stories that deal with the necessity of exorcising an Edenic place, situation or mental state of a corrupting influence."—Literary critic Patrick Meanor in John Cheever Revisited (1995)[16]

The final paragraph of "Goodbye, My Brother" is frequently quoted at length in critical analyses of the work. The passage announces the triumph of "preternatural innocence" over the forces of misanthropy.[17][18][19]

The sea that morning was iridescent and dark. My wife and my sister were swimming—Diana and Helen—and I saw their uncovered heads, black and gold in the dark water. I saw them come out and I saw that they were naked, unshy, beautiful, and full of grace, and I watched the naked women walk out of the sea.[20]

Critic Samuel Coale reports that Cheever frequently employed classical and biblical imagery in his writing: "The image of Venus rising from the sea broadens and strengthens the narrator's lyric vision as contrasted to Lawrence's image as a Puritan cleric."[21]

Literary critic Patrick Meanor notes the mythological references in the passage, notably, the goddesses Diana and Helen of Troy: "The Dionysians and their celebration of the physical body are Cheever's response to the dark denial and shame of the Puritan ethos that his story clearly condemns."[22]

Critic Lynne Waldeland identifies the youngest son, Lawrence, as a "Hawthornesque" figure, who condemns what he perceives as his family's indulgence in earthly pleasures. They ultimately prevail over Lawrence, who severs his ties with them: "The mythical overtones of goddesses appearing out of the sea…underline the story's point that traditions needn't be constricting but can be life-enhancing."[23]

Tim Lieder notes that for many people who are estranged from their families, the younger brother can be the most sympathetic character as he's the only one who isn't a suicidal drunk eager to smash in someone's head. Granted, Lieder might be reading too much into the story due to his own family history and the fact that Cheever's alcoholism informed many of his stories. [24]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Bailey, 2009 (1), p. 1025
  2. ^ Coale, 1977 p. 61-63
  3. ^ Donaldson, 1988 p. 138: See here for plot summary
  4. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 4: "Cheever himself insisted that "Goodbye, My Brother" appear first in the chronologically arranged The Stories of John Cheever (1978), even though it post-dated a number of stories in that collection."
  5. ^ Donaldson, 1988 p. 321: Cheever's request that "Goodbye, My Brother" appear as lead story, violating chronology.
  6. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 14: Among Cheever's "finest works." And: p. 146: "...an earlier masterpiece…"
  7. ^ Coale, 1977 p. 62: "...the purity and gracefulness of Cheever's style…"
  8. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 28: "...most frequently anthologized…"
  9. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 28
  10. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 28: The story "is of interest because it deals with one of Cheever's most frequent subjects, family relationships, especially those between brothers."
  11. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 4: "The brother-motif appears as a principal theme in all of Cheever's novels." And: Meanor gives a number of examples.
  12. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 43: "...a Manichean battleground…" And: p. 44-45: "The dark, Calvinist gloom of Laurence…" contrasted with "Edenic innocence and childlike happiness" that characterizes the other members of the family.
  13. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 43: "Cheever encourages a biblical resonances of the Cain/Abel myth when it is obvious that "Goodbye, My Brother" is about an attempted fratricide- the unnamed narrator literally tries to inflict great harm, if not death, on his impossibly Puritanical brother, Lawrence, at the story's dramatic conclusion."
  14. ^ O'Hara, 1989 p. 29: "...retelling of the Cain and Abel conflict, good and evil are not always easy to separate, and the 'bad' brother is actually the victim of violence."
  15. ^ ""Goodbye My Brother" (The Collected Stories of John Cheever)".
  16. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 46: Composite quote for clarity, brevity, meaning unaltered.
  17. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 46: Passage quoted And "preternatural innocence."
    Bailey, 2009 p. 171-172: Passage quoted And p. 171: "...the famous last paragraph…"
  18. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 29: Passage quoted
    O'Hara, 1989 p. 34: Passage quoted
    Coale, 1977 p. 63: Passage quoted
  19. ^ Donaldson, 1988 p. 279: Donaldson makes reference to this scene, the women emerging from the water, "water has miraculous restorative powers" in many of Cheever's works,
  20. ^ Coale, 1977 p. 63
  21. ^ Coale, 1977 p. 63
  22. ^ Meanor, 1995 p. 33: "...the mythic presentation of the women emerging from the sea at the conclusion of 'Goodbye, My Brother.'" And: p. 45
  23. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 29-30
  24. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/marlowe1-blog/703479955231784960/goodbye-my-brother-the-collected-stories-of?source=share

Sources edit

January 01, 1970
goodbye, brother, short, story, john, cheever, first, published, yorker, august, 1951, collected, enormous, radio, other, stories, 1953, work, also, appears, stories, john, cheever, 1978, short, story, john, cheevercountryunited, stateslanguageenglishpublicati. Goodbye My Brother is a short story by John Cheever first published in The New Yorker August 25 1951 and collected in The Enormous Radio and Other Stories 1953 1 The work also appears in The Stories of John Cheever 1978 Goodbye My Brother Short story by John CheeverCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublicationPublished inThe New YorkerPublication dateAugust 25 1951 Contents 1 Plot 2 Publication history 3 Critical assessment 4 Theme 5 Footnotes 6 SourcesPlot edit Goodbye My Brother records the apparently final reunion of the upper middle class Pommeroy family at their collectively owned Massachusetts sea side property Two brothers a sister and their widowed mother are gathered at the summer residence and though they meet infrequently they retain affectionate bonds with each other The third and youngest of the brothers Lawrence is an acerbic lawyer who has little in common with his siblings and who harshly judges the moral shortcomings of each member of the family The story emerges as a struggle between the puritanical outlook held by Lawrence and the more tolerant and life affirming values of his mother and siblings 2 3 Publication history editOriginally published by The New Yorker on August 25 1951 Cheever was emphatic that Goodbye My Brother appear as the leading story in the 1978 collection of his work The Stories of John Cheever though he acknowledged it violated the chronological framework of the volume 4 5 Critical assessment editWidely regarded as one of Cheever s short fiction masterpieces the story is among his most anthologized work 6 7 8 Literary critic Lynne Waldeland observes that Cheever is seldom listed among the major innovators in fiction in the twentieth century and seems at first glance to be quite traditional in form but adds that Goodbye My Brother represents a significant advance in the development of Cheever s writing in which genre expanding experimentation takes place 9 Theme editThe subject of family relationships and more specifically the conflicts between two male siblings is the single most common theme in Cheever s novels and appears in many of his short stories Goodbye My Brother is perhaps the most notable of these 10 11 The story is an examination of the irreconcilable conflict between the bleak dogmatic severity of the Pommeroy s youngest son Lawrence and the enlightened humanism exhibited by the rest of the family especially its women 12 More than one critic has discerned a fratricidal Cain and Abel like struggle in the story though here the roles are inverted in which the bad brother is actually the victim of violence 13 14 15 In story after story and novel after novel Cheever repostulated in modern terms a romantic version of Nathaniel Hawthorne s conflicts with the Puritans fear of the body and their insistent demonization of the powers of nature Goodbye My Brother becomes the first of many of Cheever s early stories that deal with the necessity of exorcising an Edenic place situation or mental state of a corrupting influence Literary critic Patrick Meanor in John Cheever Revisited 1995 16 The final paragraph of Goodbye My Brother is frequently quoted at length in critical analyses of the work The passage announces the triumph of preternatural innocence over the forces of misanthropy 17 18 19 The sea that morning was iridescent and dark My wife and my sister were swimming Diana and Helen and I saw their uncovered heads black and gold in the dark water I saw them come out and I saw that they were naked unshy beautiful and full of grace and I watched the naked women walk out of the sea 20 Critic Samuel Coale reports that Cheever frequently employed classical and biblical imagery in his writing The image of Venus rising from the sea broadens and strengthens the narrator s lyric vision as contrasted to Lawrence s image as a Puritan cleric 21 Literary critic Patrick Meanor notes the mythological references in the passage notably the goddesses Diana and Helen of Troy The Dionysians and their celebration of the physical body are Cheever s response to the dark denial and shame of the Puritan ethos that his story clearly condemns 22 Critic Lynne Waldeland identifies the youngest son Lawrence as a Hawthornesque figure who condemns what he perceives as his family s indulgence in earthly pleasures They ultimately prevail over Lawrence who severs his ties with them The mythical overtones of goddesses appearing out of the sea underline the story s point that traditions needn t be constricting but can be life enhancing 23 Tim Lieder notes that for many people who are estranged from their families the younger brother can be the most sympathetic character as he s the only one who isn t a suicidal drunk eager to smash in someone s head Granted Lieder might be reading too much into the story due to his own family history and the fact that Cheever s alcoholism informed many of his stories 24 Footnotes edit Bailey 2009 1 p 1025 Coale 1977 p 61 63 Donaldson 1988 p 138 See here for plot summary Meanor 1995 p 4 Cheever himself insisted that Goodbye My Brother appear first in the chronologically arranged The Stories of John Cheever 1978 even though it post dated a number of stories in that collection Donaldson 1988 p 321 Cheever s request that Goodbye My Brother appear as lead story violating chronology Meanor 1995 p 14 Among Cheever s finest works And p 146 an earlier masterpiece Coale 1977 p 62 the purity and gracefulness of Cheever s style Waldeland 1979 p 28 most frequently anthologized Waldeland 1979 p 28 Waldeland 1979 p 28 The story is of interest because it deals with one of Cheever s most frequent subjects family relationships especially those between brothers Meanor 1995 p 4 The brother motif appears as a principal theme in all of Cheever s novels And Meanor gives a number of examples Meanor 1995 p 43 a Manichean battleground And p 44 45 The dark Calvinist gloom of Laurence contrasted with Edenic innocence and childlike happiness that characterizes the other members of the family Meanor 1995 p 43 Cheever encourages a biblical resonances of the Cain Abel myth when it is obvious that Goodbye My Brother is about an attempted fratricide the unnamed narrator literally tries to inflict great harm if not death on his impossibly Puritanical brother Lawrence at the story s dramatic conclusion O Hara 1989 p 29 retelling of the Cain and Abel conflict good and evil are not always easy to separate and the bad brother is actually the victim of violence Goodbye My Brother The Collected Stories of John Cheever Meanor 1995 p 46 Composite quote for clarity brevity meaning unaltered Meanor 1995 p 46 Passage quoted And preternatural innocence Bailey 2009 p 171 172 Passage quoted And p 171 the famous last paragraph Waldeland 1979 p 29 Passage quotedO Hara 1989 p 34 Passage quotedCoale 1977 p 63 Passage quoted Donaldson 1988 p 279 Donaldson makes reference to this scene the women emerging from the water water has miraculous restorative powers in many of Cheever s works Coale 1977 p 63 Coale 1977 p 63 Meanor 1995 p 33 the mythic presentation of the women emerging from the sea at the conclusion of Goodbye My Brother And p 45 Waldeland 1979 p 29 30 https www tumblr com marlowe1 blog 703479955231784960 goodbye my brother the collected stories of source shareSources editBailey Blake 2009 1 Notes on Text in John Cheever Collected Stories and Other Writing The Library of America Pp 1025 1028 ISBN 978 1 59853 034 6 Bailey Blake 2009 2 Cheever A Life Alfred A Knopf New York 770 pp ISBN 978 1 4000 4394 1 Coale Samuel 1977 John Cheever Frederick Ungar Publishing Company New York ISBN 0 8044 6081 7 Donaldson Scott 1988 John Cheever A Biography Random House New York ISBN 0 394 54921 X Meanor Patrick 1995 John Cheever Revisited Twayne Publishers New York ISBN 0 8057 3999 8 O Hara James E 1989 John Cheever A Study of the Short Fiction Twayne Publishers Boston Massachusetts Twayne Studies in Short Fiction no 9 ISBN 0 8057 8310 5 Waldeland Lynne 1979 John Cheever Twayne Publishers G K Hall amp Company Boston Massachusetts ISBN 0 8057 7251 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Goodbye My Brother amp oldid 1168110378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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