The Enormous Radio by John Cheever is a story that contains various gothic elements. One of the elements that I noticed is gothic emotions that are extreme and gothic actions, such as acting irrational. In the story, Irene becomes obsessive over listening to the radio that Jim had bought her. Irene during the story faces extreme emotions of doubt about her own life. Whether or not she is truly happy in her marriage with Jim and if her life is as happy as she thought it was. The gothic element of actions is also prevalent. Being that she is thriving in her own negative and thoughts.

On the other hand, The Enormous Radio could not be a gothic story. My main reason for thinking so is because there is no abstract return to normalcy. Unlike other stories such as the lottery, where the characters literally murder their own friends and go about their day afterward, Cheever’s story is less dramatic. Irene at the end of the story attempts to return to her normal life after the events of the radio. Although it may be difficult and she wishes that she had remained ignorant of what had been occuring. Another factor might be where the story takes place, there are no daunting landscapes or locations in the story. The setting is on the scale of being more normal than the other stories that could be considered gothic.