Private Information In John Cheever's The Enormous Radio

t to hear private information, it’s that they cannot help it. If they are not wearing headphones or something covering their ears, it is easy to overhear things that can catch their attention. Irene, in “The Enormous Radio,” learned private information all through listening through the radio. Even when the radio was turned off, she eventually turned it back on to listen to the conversations of her neighbors. In a way knowing other’s private information is somewhat addicting, especially for Irene. Gossip is a reason why nothing is private. For example, if something personal happens to someone in school and they tell a friend, it will most likely spread around the school. That person does not think everyone knows, but they do. That is similar

Some information is best kept private for the better of others. There is a reason certain information is kept private. It is getting harder and harder to keep things private because of the ease of access people have through the internet. In “The Enormous Radio” Irene gets traumatized from the information she learns about her neighbors. "Oh, it's so horrible, it's so dreadful," Irene was sobbing. "I've been listening all day, and it's so depressing" (Cheever 5). The information really does a toll on Irene and she begins to stress out and second guess her own life. Irene feels guilty for listening to her neighbors conversations. She starts firing questions at Jim about their well-being. She finally calms down one Jim reassures her that everything is okay. To put this into perspective, imagine someone has information that cannot be shared. He is constantly asked by his friend to tell him what the information is. He keeps refusing, saying that the information will not go over well with him. Finally, the he gives in and shares the information and just like he said, his friend was furious because the information involved his ex. He could have went the rest of his life not knowing the information, but he wanted to know about the private information. In the end, the information ended up having a negative effect on him and he was better off not knowing the