The Five-Forty-Eight Essay, Research Paper

In the short story, “The Five-Forty-Eight” written by John Cheever, we are introduced to two characters that have had a brief personal relationship with each other and to the consequences that follow for one of them. Mr. Blake happens to be the fellow that is being put on trial and is judged accordingly. His persona is defoliated until the truth rings out like a blow horn. The beast within him begs for a swift end.

As the story unfolds, we are made aware of the fact that a strange woman is following Mr. Blake. At this point the author has given us little about the man and his personality. With this in mind, the reader is positioned to take a defensive approach to Blake. He is the victim. Why is this woman following him? What does she want with him? He is scared for his life. It is amazing to think that she can harm him in such a way that he would regret it for the rest of his life. Not until later do we discover that he took advantage of this woman and her defenselessness. Or so he thought.

It is apparent by now that she wasn’t the only one that he took advantage of. The following sentence suggests that there were many others before her. “Most of the many women he had known had been picked for their lack of self-esteem.” It is clear that “picked” has a double meaning in this place. To fill a secretary’s position was a mere masquerade, compared to the real reason of quenching his personal desires and victories. Because of his overconfidence, he underestimated Miss Dent. How could someone so young and frail do anything to harm a man like him? Now we begin to see a dark side of him. The words in the story begin to paint a picture of a man we are about to know a little better: “He was a slender man with brown hair – undistinguishable in every way, unless you could have divined in his pallor or his gray eyes his unpleasant tastes.”

We see throughout the story a feeling of arrogance and triumph about Mr. Blake. A triumph in the sense that he was able to outwit the woman that was following him. He made it to the “five-forty-eight” and no sign of her anywhere. His perception of himself is also of high value and stature despite his outward appearance. “He dressed – like the rest of us – as if he admitted the existence of sumptuary laws.” “Except for the few bright threads in his necktie, there was a scrupulous lack of color in his clothing that seemed protective.” It is therefore assumed that he tried not to attract any attention to himself but instead, to blend in with the rest of us. Kind of like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He also had a knack for judging everything and everyone. It seemed like all things around him disgusted him. Nothing was pleasant or tasteful. Mr. Watkins’ appearance and demeanor appalled him. He did not meet the criteria – Blake’s criteria.

Louise Blake was an unexpected surprise and a twist in the story as well. There was definitely something wrong with Mr. Blake. He was a married man – an unhappy married man, but nevertheless, married. Obviously, family life was not a priority in his daily schedule and his wife was more of a burden than a responsibility. The true hatred of his personality finally showed its ugly head. The man was filth. Not only for his treatment of Louise, but for all the things he stood for. A real mid-life crisis had enveloped Mr. Blake. Could he have seen it coming? Would he have cared? Was he not aware of the terrible life he was leading and the hardship he brought his family? Something had to give.

Miss Dent appeared out of nowhere and made change of things. How clever was she? Or so he didn’t think? A mental case…yes. But a human with true emotions also. We begin to see that it was the end of the line for Mr. Blake. Not just for Shaddy Hill, but maybe for the end of his life.

He deserves what it is coming to him. He has been aware from the beginning that he was praying on these helpless women. What gave him the right to reduce their self-respect to dirt? Now, it was time for him to feel the shame that he delivered to these women. Should he have been killed because of the repugnancy he stood for? Well, the reader is prepared to think so. He was very close to make it happen for himself. All he had to do is hear Miss Dent’s feelings for him and his life would be spared. We are made aware that she’s not all together in her head throughout the whole story, but we also realize that she was human. She had feelings for him, mainly because he shared that moment with her. Aside from that, she wanted to let him know that she felt sorry for him.

Mr. Blake’s face in the dirt shows that she has accomplished her goal. He has been brought down before the court and found guilty of lack of respect for human kind. Just as with any man alive, we tend to make up an end to a story. In this case, John Cheever is leaving us with a question on our mind of what, if anything has changed about Mr. Blake. Was he awakening from his nightmarish personality? Does he see life and people in a new light? Or does he just discount it all upon the fact that she was a crazy woman and had no idea of his reality?

Aside from the colorful characters we are introduced to and to the way the story is being told, we must take a deeper look into this man’s inner self and try to understand how does his behavior apply to all men. It is my belief that he was lying to himself the whole time. What I mean to say is that he knew deep down inside that he was the one with no self-respect. Instead of admitting to his guilt, he took it out on any helpless creature that came into his path, to elevate himself above them. I also believe that as we reach a mental maturity in life, we look back at our past and see the things we didn’t achieve. As a result, some men make the wrong choices. Since we all know that life is too short, we tend to regress in our behavior and act in ways that are harmful to us as well as others. To deter this kind of conduct, we should look around ourselves and see people for who they are and give everyone the respect that we expect in return.