“Separating”

Introduction

There were many different aspects of John Updike's “Separating” that I enjoyed. The focus on what a modern day family is like, the character development of Richard, and the reversal of male and female stereotypes to name a few. However, I decided to focus my paper on the three different conflicts Richard, the protagonist of the story, encounters. This paper discusses a character from the short story “Separating” written by John Updike and provides a character analysis focusing on the idea of “helplessness”.

Discussion

In the past roles for women and men were strongly defined, and even if their beliefs differed from these roles, they followed them anyway. In John Updike's "Separating," Richard is a man who also likes many others followed his assigned role, of providing for his family. This character does not just provide his family with the necessities for their lives, but also with many luxuries. Richard and his wife Joan have been married for many years, (John, 1999, 24) and have raised four children. Their children are no longer young, and they decide to break the news of their separation to them. As Richard and his wife discuss how tell their children Joan asks, "Do you have a better plan? That leaves you the rest of Saturday to answer any questions, pack, and make your wonderful departure" (John, 1999, 24).

The tone set by that statement gives the reader some indication that this separation may evolve into a divorce, and that Richard may desire to be somewhere else. What could make Richard want to leave his family, home, and the life he has spent years building? John Updike answers this question by depicting Richard simply as an unhappy man in pursuit of happiness. Richard describes his last moments with his family as “Each moment was a partition, with the past on one side and the future on the other, a future containing the unthinkable now. Beyond four knifelike walls a new life for him waited vaguely" (John, 1999, 24).

Richard is very emotional about his decision, for it not only means leaving his family, but also everything he knows should have made him happy. In the story neither Joan nor his kids are described as undeserving, Updike does not speak of a trouble marriage or bad kids, because he wants the reader to understand this separation is only about Richard. Richard represents the many men throughout the world that no longer follow the roles and values assigned to them by the American Dream. He has chosen to defy society and break the rules, by not suppressing his personal happiness for that of his family, but instead leaving one family with the possibility of starting another.

The last and most important conflict in this story is between Richard and himself. Throughout the story he has a very hard time controlling his emotions. He cries at the dinner table and in the car with Dickie. He tells his wife that he wishes he could undo his mistakes and start ...