Submitted by Sir Joshua, Mar 7, 2007 09:57

Thanks for your response to my comment. And thanks for the roster of his available printed material. When I made the comment about '...Cheever without roots' I was reflecting on the personality type of the end of the line WASP of which I've know so many. They have a poignant desire for memorializing, for wanting to preserve the best of what they come from which they do, usually through writing, while at the same time having an almost built-in downward spiral which they can see from far off as their destny. They must all be gone by now. They have a built in consciousness of their classical educations which they observe and respect, whether by surrounding themselves of the best of what went before, or in our protagonist's case, physically moving himself to the lugubrious shadow of Vesuvius. I extrapolate on the Cheever comment as I think that is at the core of what makes him an oddly heroic figure. It could almost be referred to as American Existentialism, only there is hope and pride at the core, not ash as in the case of Europe. I guess it is the P in WASP, Protestant. Reflective of at least a knowledge that there is a God.

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