The Housebreaker of Shady Hill (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Cheever
- First Published: 1954
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The 1950's
- Setting: Shady Hill, a fictional suburb of New York City
- Principal Characters: Johnny Hake, Christina
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Values, Upper classes, Theft, Suburban life, Life, philosophy of, Satire, Pretensions
- Locales: New York, NY
The Story
“The Housebreaker of Shady Hill” recounts the process by which Johnny Hake, a stable citizen of a quiet New York suburb, briefly becomes a thief, suffers remorse, and reforms. In the process, it comments satirically on the mores of modern suburbanites. Johnny's career in theft begins shortly after he resigns his job with a company that makes parablendeum—a kind of plastic wrap. Fed up with office politics, Johnny strikes out on his own, only to discover that he cannot earn a living comparable to his old salary. Unwilling to burden his wife with his financial...
[The entire page is 1437 words long]
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