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- W257659110 abstract "The publication of Falconer (NY: Penguin, 1977) marks a departure from familiar territory of John Cheever's earlier narratives. It is a novel which shocks his readers not only because of protagonist, who is a drug addict and fratricide, but also language with its swear words, slangs and obscenities. Further, Falconer, for first time, portrays sexual promiscuity and homosexuality within fall-trial-redemption pattern. However, in spite of these extraordinary features, what is remarkable about novel is Cheever's exploration and realization of redemptive possibilities of incarcerated human spirit. When novel first appeared, it was easy to connect story's parallels with Cheever's own life--his struggle with a near-fatal heart attack at age of sixty which confined him to hospital and then, later, his brush with alcoholism which led to confinement in a recovery center. These personal experiences must have given him an emotional and psychological understanding of incarceration and imprisonment which enabled him to lend his fiction conviction and authenticity. Walter Clemons calls Falconer the triumphant work of a man new born (Newsweek: March 14, 1977: 62). Indeed, Farragut's pilgrim progress bears a great deal of similarity with his creator's. Yet, despite its similarity, Cheever emphasized that this novel was not written out of a singular experience of alcohol or drugs. I would like to think it is sum of my living (Newsweek: 70). In an interview with John Hersey, Cheever confirms that Falconer was used as a symbol of confinement: I used imaginary prison of Falconer principally as a metaphor for confinement. It would be third large metaphor I've used. The first is St. Botolphs, a New England village which has a confinement of traditional values and nostalgia, second was suburban towns, Bullet Park and Shady Hill, and third is Falconer. Not Sing Sing. (Talk with John Cheever, New York Times Book Review, March 6, 1977). In an interview, with John Firth, Cheever elaborated remark by saying: All my work deals with confinement in one shape or another and struggle towards freedom. Do I mean freedom? Only as a metaphor for a sense of boundlessness, possibility of rejoicing (Talking with John Cheever, New York Times Book Review. March 6, 1977). Falconer has a neat, streamlined plot with very few digressions, episodes and asides, like his earlier works. The central character is Ezekiel Farragut, a college professor convicted of murder who, despite his elite background, has to share his cell with a band of criminals known by their nicknames-Tennis, Chicken Number Two, The Cuckold, Bumpo and Tiny. He falls in love with a young inmate called Jody who later escapes from prison. But most significant part of narrative is his involvement with a dying inmate, Chicken Number Two, whose place he takes in a burial shroud and finally manages a miraculous escape. Homosexuality, which had never featured before in Cheever's novels, is accepted by novelist as a tender love relationship between two men, Farragut and Jody. Cheever emphasizes on emotional rather than physical aspect of relationship by showing that it can be emotionally sustaining rather than self-consuming and possessive. Thus, when Jody wishes to escape, thereby severing their emotional bond, Farragut genuinely wishes him happiness. Religion and realization of importance of prayer is a major aspect of novel which also contributes to spiritual uplifting of protagonist. Early in novel, Farragut writes a lengthy letter to Bishop stating his religious beliefs: . …" @default.
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- W257659110 title "Pilgrim's Progress: Cheever's Falconer" @default.
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