Sarah Baker
Characterization in John Cheever’s O Youth and Beauty and its Meaning
In his short story O Youth and Beauty, John Cheever presents a rather dystopic
view of life in the suburbs. His two main characters, Cash and Louise Bentley, are the
basis for the meaning of the story and act as a metaphor for life in the suburbs. Cheever
has created believable representations of real human beings that would live in this
situation and that help to reinforce his opinion on the subject of suburban developments.
Cash and Louise Bentley are both very believable characters. Cash is a round as
well as a dynamic character. The reader can tell this since the story details some of the
changes he has gone through, “Cash was, of course, an old track star, but he was never
aggressive or tiresome about his brilliant past. The college where he had spent his youth
had offered him a paying job on the alumni council, but he had refused it, realizing that
this part of his life had ended.” (Cheever 210) He started out being a glorious young
athlete, and now he is a middle-aged man with thinning hair who is good at jumping over
furniture. Later on in the story, he undergoes another change. After he breaks his leg he
“seemed discontented. He did not himself understand what had happened. He, or
everything else around him, seemed subtly to have changed for the worse.” (214) He
cannot get along with his neighbours any longer and seems constantly to be envious of
the youth and happiness that surrounds him because it reminds him of his inferiority. He
then regains his former spunk after proving his adequacy for track at the country club,
only to have it kill him soon thereafter. Cash is dynamic because of these changes and he
is round because of his range and complexity of emotions.
Louise is a round character, but she is also static. Louise is also the embodiment
of the traditional housewife archetype. She undergoes strong emotions but seems to fall
into a constant looping pattern. This is shown perfectly in Louise and Cash’s pattern of
quarrelling, “After a few days and nights of this, Louise would decide she was at the end
of her rope. She would decide to go and stay with her married sister in Mamaroneck.
She would usually choose a Saturday, when Cash would be at home, for her departure.
She would pack a suitcase… take a bath and put on her best slip. Cash, passing the
bedroom door, would see her. Her slip was transparent, and suddenly he was all
repentance, tenderness, charm, wisdom, and love… and when they went downstairs to get
a bite to eat an hour later… they would be the happiest married couple in the whole
eastern United States.” (212) This is the typical pattern of emotions that Louise goes
through and she remains static from the beginning of the story to the end.
I believe that these characters are realistic and believable. I believe this because
they seem flawed and insecure just like any other person. They have ups and downs, they
quarrel, and they are by no means infallible. They also have the financial situation and
marital relationship of many families living in the suburbs. They also interact with their
neighbours in a believable manner. They often have get-togethers for dinner and drinks
and joke and laugh in an unsophisticated yet proud manner that is natural to this type of
demographic. Overall, they are characters that are as unique and normal as anybody, all
following the path of acceptable and expected behaviour while hiding their own inner
demons.
Cash and Louise can be seen as a representation of Cheever’s views on life in the
suburbs. On the outside they seem perfect and complete, but on the inside, life is
undesirable, frustrating and repetitive. The relationship between these two characters is a
Sarah Baker
metaphor for the dystopia that Cheever views the suburbs as, “the Bentleys were a
happily married couple, but they had their ups and downs.” (211) Although it looks good
from the outside, in reality it is a stifling environment. From reading the story, one can
tell that Cheever believes suburban developments to be poisonous; they are an
environment where one must conform if they wish to be happy. An environment where
the static survives, and the dynamic fall dead. Like Cash, those who seek to remain free
and unencumbered are shot down by those who are content to accept their less that
perfect situation.