Cheever Journal

Jennifer Tischler
October 28, 2011
Cheever Journal
English 46A
Lankford

 

Author Quote:

Physical discomfort may have added to their idealism--and idealism so ardent that it cast a shadow on good sense. They were high-minded intellectually, men and women who--for the most part--lived according to principles that transcended things like warmth in winter and regular dinners. But their fierceness on behalf of the causes they believed in ended by compromising their own ideals. (Cheever, 6).

 Internet Quote:

 

"Her opening chapters are curiously half-baked. … Cheever then signs off with a handful of first-person intrusions that suggest we should care for these characters … because [she] loves Concord and wants us to love it, too. Between those annoying bookends, however, Cheever collects some nice material and finds her stride."(http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/book-review/american-bloomsbury/susan-cheever)

Summary: 
Cheever is describing some of the most famous American authors, and while they were like every day people to most of society; they were in their own world behind the pen and paper.

Personal Response:
Cheever's description of these highly regarded men and women authors are partially meant to show why they are highly regarded; but also to show that they were just like the regular people who read about them. The only difference is, they had the courage to go public with issues that other people were feeling [and still feel to this day.] I also like that she regards how adamant they were about their beliefs. I do not know if I would entirely agree that it caused a "shadow" on their good sense. I think that these people so firmly believed in what they were writing, that it came out in a little bit of an extreme form. [Hence, a lot of harsh criticism that they were experiencing.] I am not sure that they thought some of the outcome would have been as harsh as it was; but these are writers I feel that someone could either love or hate. I do not see any middle ground with these extremists.  I also think that, the point Cheever is trying to send across is that having a standpoint on, and writing about their views was just as normal to them as things that we all might experience on a day-to-day basis. I feel that the end of this passage, Cheever is saying that these authors were split between their beliefs. It is as if they knew what they wrote so whole-heatedly about was not "right" according to society, but their feelings about the issues were so strong, that they "caved in" and wrote about them anyhow.