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    Suburbia

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    These four short stories from the post-World War II era illustrate the fallacies of achieving normalcy and fulfillment through suburban life. While suburbia was seen as the new American Dream, the characters in these stories find hidden discontent and dysfunction beneath the idealized façade. Whether escaping through fantasy, conforming through mob mentality, or encountering unexpected dangers, these stories show that the reality of suburban life does not always align with its perceived gentility and normalcy.

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    Suburbia

    Uploaded by

    api-271302233
    80 views1 page
    These four short stories from the post-World War II era illustrate the fallacies of achieving normalcy and fulfillment through suburban life. While suburbia was seen as the new American Dream, the characters in these stories find hidden discontent and dysfunction beneath the idealized façade. Whether escaping through fantasy, conforming through mob mentality, or encountering unexpected dangers, these stories show that the reality of suburban life does not always align with its perceived gentility and normalcy.

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    These four short stories from the post-World War II era illustrate the fallacies of achieving normalcy and fulfillment through suburban life. While suburbia was seen as the new American Dream, the characters in these stories find hidden discontent and dysfunction beneath the idealized façade. Whether escaping through fantasy, conforming through mob mentality, or encountering unexpected dangers, these stories show that the reality of suburban life does not always align with its perceived gentility and normalcy.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    80 views1 page

    Suburbia

    Uploaded by

    api-271302233
    These four short stories from the post-World War II era illustrate the fallacies of achieving normalcy and fulfillment through suburban life. While suburbia was seen as the new American Dream, the characters in these stories find hidden discontent and dysfunction beneath the idealized façade. Whether escaping through fantasy, conforming through mob mentality, or encountering unexpected dangers, these stories show that the reality of suburban life does not always align with its perceived gentility and normalcy.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    "The Country Husband" by John Cheever

    "Battle Royale" by Ralph Ellison

    This story shows the fallacy of suburbia through both


    the husband's and wife's hidden discontent with what
    it perceived as the ideal American household.

    This story illuminates the fallacies of suburbia by


    employing an outsider's viewpoint during his first
    experience with social suburban culture.

    Francis Weed convolutes his relationship with the


    adolescent babysitter due to his invisibility as father
    and husband in his own household.

    The protagonist of Battle Royale enters into a social


    setting with respected members of suburbis, bankers,
    lawyers, including a fashionable minister, only to discover
    his image on gentile society does not align with the reality.

    Julia Weed copes with her disillusion by blatantly


    ignoring any and all conflicts in her home with an
    empty smile on her face.

    Inside the gentleman's club, the esteemed members


    repeatedly infict abuses upon the younger, reaching
    members of society for personal amusement.

    Though the Weed family presents the model 50's life


    similar to Donna Reed, both adult members of the
    family escape through fantasty from their mundane
    yet chaotic home life.

    The members of the club escape the menial lives of


    suburban husbands by creating excitement through
    questionable deeds. By being a victim of the abuse, the
    protagonist recognizes his own grandfather's warning
    about the disillusionment of conforming to society which
    may not be what it seems.

    Suburbia
    As illustrated in these four short stories
    taking place after World War II, finding
    a sense of normalcy in suburban life
    became the new American Dream
    though it was riddled with fallacies.

    "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson


    The Lottery is the epitome of the dysfunctional
    nature of suburbia and belonging.
    The towns annual stoning is widely accepted by each
    member of the community as a normal occurrence.
    The mentality of acceptance and fitting in with society
    coincides within this story much like mob mentality.
    Post WWII life does not leave room for individuality as
    we all strive for a nice, normal, peaceful existence;
    which shown by these authors leaves no room for
    individuality or dissention. The children gather just the
    right stones because these people too look for the
    interruption from mundane, finding excitement in
    pummeling another to her death with rocks.

    "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery


    O'Connor
    Family vacations have been a suburban ideal since
    suburbia itself was formed after WWII. It transcends
    to even today with Disney World package dream get
    away. In A Good Man is Hard to Find a family
    traverses the country side to a destination vacation.
    They encounter the Misfit, the epitome of evil who
    murders the entire family including the infant child.
    As in each of these stories behind the faade of an
    idealistic life lurks untold dangers. Behind the
    wholesome family suburban concept is a myriad of
    things these characters repress in order to present the
    American dream of family happiness. Although
    warned, this family is still susceptible to dereliction,
    their deaths as an end result.

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