Reunion

            The short story "Reunion" by John Cheever is about a young boy named Charles who goes to visit his father in New York City. The story revolves around Charles's impression of his father and the harsh reality of his father being an alcoholic. The story starts off with Charles on a train going to New York City to meet with his father. His initial reaction upon seeing him is one of joy and happiness as he is finally reunited with the father he had not seen for 3 years and the hopes he can rekindle the lost father-son relationship. The father explains that he wants to take Charles to his bar but since it so far away, he thinks its better that they just go to a close place. As they go from one bar after another, his father becomes more loud and obnoxious, which forces Charles to change his whole view of his father. In one of the bars, the owners actually kicked out Charles and his father after his father began yelling at the waiter. Finally as Charles is about to leave, his father volunteers to but Charles a newspaper to read on the train. He begins to yell at the newspaper salesman which forces Charles to come to the realization that his father is really not what he had pictured in his head. He walks to the train and never sees his father ever again. In the end I think Charles finally realized that the man he once knew and the innocent picture he had of his father was nothing more than an illusion. .
             I think the main message of this story is Charles's innocence versus the harsh reality of his father's alcoholism. His father seems to be trying so hard to impress his son that he ends up alienating him from his life. It is also interesting to point out that his father would rather drag his son to a bar rather than spend quality time with Charles. At one point in the story, Charles's father even tries to buy his underage son a drink which shows his father clearly has no sense of morals. It is this lack of respect and bouts with alcoholism that bring Charles to the harsh reality that his father is nothing more than a man with a troubled past which Charles wants nothing to do with.