The Persistence Of Desire Quote Response

Updike, The Persistence of Desire
page # 566

1) "It was Pennypacker's method to fill his little rooms with waiting patients and wander from one to another like a dungeon-keeper."

The narrator compares the doctor, Pennypacker, to a dungeon-keeper. He says this of him because he enjoys seeing his waiting room full. You know this because later in the book, when Clyde returns to the examination room, Pennypacker is happy because the waiting room is full. It tells you a little about his personality.

Updike, The Persistence od Desire
page # 570

2) "This glimpse, through the skin of the paper, of her plain self quickened and sweetened his desire more than touching her had."

Throughout the story, Clyde attempts to flirt with Janet, but he is unsuccessful. It is not working as well as he had thought. When he touches her, it is not what he thinks it is. However, when he recieves his note from her, he feels her true personality and feelings in the paper.

1950's Presentation

Activism: 2nd Red Scare

The Swimmer Quote Response

Cheever, The Swimmer
page # 1490

1) "Making his way home by an uncommon route gave him the feeling that he was a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny, and he knew that he would find friends all along the way, friends would line the banks of the Lucinda River."

It can be perceived from this quote that Neddy is an imaginative, adventurous person. He is willing to try something new and difficult because he loves to swim and believes that it will be fun. He is excited about the task ahead. He compares himself to a pilgrim, which shows that he has a great imagination. He feels like a pilgrim because he is doing something different, in a way he is entering a new world.

Cheever, The Swimmer
page, # 1497

2) "He shouted, pounded on the door, tried to force it with his shpulder, and then, looking in the windows, saw that the place was empty."

This is the last sentence of the story. Neddy finishes his cross-country swim, and arrives at his home. Over the course of his journey, he finds that people are angry at him, or sorry about his misfortunes, but he has no clue what they are talking about. This quote is important because he realizes that he has lost his home, money, and everything else.

The Death of Justina Quote Response

Cheever, The Death Of Justina
page #544

1) "I must pretend, I must, like an actor, study and improve on my pretension, to have nothing to do with his triumphs and I must bow my head gracefully in shame when we have both failed."

This quote occurs while Moses is talking to his boss MacPherson. What he is saying is even though he is the one who is writing all of the speeches, MacPherson gets all the credit. However, if the speech is bad, Moses is blamed and scolded. He begins to realize how life is and how it may not always be fair.

Cheever, The Death Of Justina
page #548

2) "Then I suppose Cousin Justina will have to gracefully decompose in my parlor until Jack comes back from Paris."

Moses' character is revealed in this quote. He is tired of everything that is happening in his life, and he is full of stress. It causes him to speak with sarchastic anger, such as above. He is upset that he cannot have his cousin buried because she died in the "wrong zone." The manner in which he chose to expalin his annoyance about this expresses his general irritation of life.

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