Hi can you please help me with John Cheever's Enormous Radio.

Question

I'm having trouble understanding what it was in the story that helped create our national identity of the time (1947)
is it the new radio that Jim bought his wife?
please help me.

Answer 1

I think Cheever meant that since the radio came into our lives, people knew more than they ever wanted to know about other people and world events. We had gone from a small community of acquaintances and neighbors to world-wide influences. Obviously, Cheever saw that as very disruptive to normal family life.

Answer 2

And can you imagine what Cheever would think about network television, cable television, and the Internet??

Wow!