The Five-Forty-Eight, By John Cheever (1954)

 The Five-Forty-Eight, By John Cheever (1954)

8/10


Until the last moment, I was positive this story would end with Miss Dent blowing a hole in Blake’s head. Yet she didn’t. All she wanted was to get over and forget him, and go on with her life. I found this very generous, since the things Blake did may not be crimes punishable by death, but still very evil.

I think the best way to see this story is comparing Blake with Miss Dent. Blake has a house, family, job, and power, while Miss dent is probably broke, lonely, and unemployed. Frankly, he is much better off . However, if we focus on the actions of each character, this changes. Blake is a terrible person. He preys on weak people, cheats on his wife, treats his family like trash, fire people just without reason, and quarrels with neighbors. Miss Dent may be mentally unstable and low self-esteemed, but unlike Blake, she decided to not hurt the opponent at the last moment. Blake may have better social status, but Miss Dent is the better person in this situation.

I found the author’s depiction of Miss Dent’s unstable mind very realistic and interesting. I rated the story eight out of ten. (200 words)

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