A changing American family: Cheever, Gardner, Irving, Updike

What major forces have affected the American family in the immediate past and with what results to the composition, goals and stability of that institution?; The works of John's Cheever, Gardner, Irving and Updike reveal some of the ongoing effects of two major wars with their freeing of women from the home to the work force, the continued emigration from rural or small towns to the urban centers, and the immense technological changes pervading every aspect of our culture: widely available power, easy communication via radio, telephone and television, rapid transit by car or aircraft, disposable everythings, and an increased life span due to medical advances.; Although considerable evidence indicates forces working toward family dissolution, this dissertation argues that these four writers, while hardly presenting uniform or reassuring pictures of American families, nonetheless suggest that for most people the family fulfills vital needs. The family affords the hope of love and companionship, order and peace, and a place where people may learn to know themselves.; Chapters I and II introduce these four writers and discuss family varieties. Chapter III examines Cheever's portrayal of the tensions resulting from the move out of small towns to city suburbs. While Cheever's view is the most comic of these four authors, his last major work, Falconer, mirrors his own sense of entrapment and confused sexual identity. Chapter IV presents Gardner, especially in Nickel Mountain and October Light, as the most persuasive voice in this group in arguing for the humanizing benefits of the family. Chapter V discusses Irving, particularly in Garp and The Cider-House Rules, as the most outspoken proponent of these four in regard to family membership. Chapter VI notes that Updike has portrayed a greater variety of families than any of the other four. On balance, and in light of the Rabbit trilogy, Updike implies that with all its faults, family life is necessary for most.; Chapter VII summarizes and restates these four writers' portrayals of families and concludes that their work strongly affirms the institution of the family.