“The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever is a story told in third person narration. The story is not gothic because the setting. Jim and Irene Westcott are a wealthy family with children and a maid. Irene stays home all day and Jim works. Irene wears her jewelry and fur and attends lunch with her friends. They both enjoy listening to the radio together when Jim arrives home.

 Jim buys Irene a new shiny radio to make his wife happy even though they seem to be not as wealthy as the year before. When the new radio is being used, they do not hear music but everyone in their private apartments. Jim and Irene find this amazing and continues to listen as if it was a reality show. Irene sees her neighbors in the elevator and judges them in her mind by what she hears through the radio. However, after reading this short story I realized that it had some allegory elements. Jim and Irene were wrapped up in listening to their neighbor’s personal conversations and judging them that at the end you learn they are having money problems of their own as Jim yells at her over her unpaid clothing bill, $400 for a new radio and Irene acting like she is saint when Jim really knows who she is. Instead of Jim and Irene being nosey they should’ve been working on their own marriage and home instead of judging others.

This story has gothic elements as well because the way the story ended. At the end the Central Gothic Irony comes in to play as Jim was yelling at Irene, she listens to the radio hoping to hear the neighbors, but she hears the weather and a railroad disaster in Tokyo. The radio starts to play when Irene wants listen to her neighbors instead of hearing the truth Jim has to say.