To begin with, I'm afraid of life. Not like, OH MY GOD I have to go to school today, so I'm going to kill myself. Sorry, nothing of that nature. It's more of the fear of my romantic future life. Future as in twenty years from now. I blame one book - Revolutionary Road.
Revolutionary Road isn't just about the average girl and guy get together and have rough times in between, then end up having a happy ending. If it was as simple as that then the reviews on the back are big lies :
"Richard Yates belongs with Fitzgerald and Hemingway as the three unarguably great American novelists of the twentieth century." --- David Hare, The Guardian
"A treasure, a jewel, a whole trove is Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road." --- Dorothy Parker, Esquire
This book has meaning. It stands for something. Something that maybe, some can't even imagine. Sure, it's about a girl and a guy and their family, but that's not all of it. No, it gives the idea that the perfect house doesn't mean it's the cute, little white one in the corner with the white fence. It gives the idea that a family isn't happy just because the man comes home with the bacon from a boring job, while the woman stays home to watch the little ones. Everybody might think they want it, but is this plan good for everyone? That perfect white house? The boring job? Staying at home? Don't you think that it might go against what they believe? And what for? Safety? Is safety really that important?
I'll try my best not to spoil the book, whether the movie is the same is a different story...
Meet the Characters and Their Problems:
Frank Wheeler : Husband to April Wheeler and father of two kids, Jennifer and Micheal. He's a caring father and just like every other day he gets annoyed with his kids, but maybe he goes a little off the extreme to much. For example, whipping Micheal (4 year-old) in front of the house, because he kept kicking dirt. Frank hates his job. He hates arguing with his wife, which he does every few weeks about something. And most of all he hates not feeling like the man in the house hold. He didn't want this for himself.
April Wheeler : Wife to Frank Wheeler and mother to two kids, Jennifer and Micheal. She's the stay at home mother. Who doesn't understand the word 'love'. The meaning of it is empty to her. She can't grasp it. Maybe it means liking something or yearning for it deeply? She never really had the most 'loving' childhood. She was taken care of by Aunts and they would switch, never would she stay with her parents. They usually came to see her maybe every few months and then visit for at the most four days.
Shep Campbell : Husband to Milly Campbell and father to two healthy young boys. Shep forgets that he has kids, even if they are running around him shouting 'DADDY' instead of reply he would look around for the man they were calling daddy. He saw everything as the grass is always greener on the other side. He was jealous of his best friend, Frank. And he was in love with April. To him she was smart, elegant, and sexy. A beautiful creature that he could lay his hands on...
Milly Campbell : Wife to Shep Campbell and mother to two healthy young boys. Milly. Milly. Milly exaggerates everything to make it sound more dramatic like she was staring in her own soap opera. She denies the feelings her husband has for her friend, April - as if they don't exist.
Mrs. Givings : Wife to Mr. Givings and mother to John Givings. Mrs. Givings sees everything on the bright side or at least tries and if she can't then she at least expresses it in a happy tone. She married her husband for one single reason : He was the only one who asked. There was no one else. No one else thought she was lovely or beautiful, maybe her own husband doesn't even think that.
Mr. Givings : Husband to Mrs. Givings and father to John Givings. Mr. Givings blows off his wife in one simple way by turning off his hearing aid. Can that give in an indication on his age? He's a push over, almost never does he stand up for his wife is against. (aka their son.)
John Givings : Son of Mrs. and Mr. Givings. He might just be the only sane one and he's committed to an insane asylum. He finds great interest in the Wheelers, mostly because they are the only ones that listen to him, but maybe it's them that should listen to him.
My Conclusion:
I'm scared. I don't want to ever end up like them. None of them. I don't want my husband to cheat on me or feel like I have to marry someone because he's the only one that loves me. Afraid that no one will love me and be stuck like Mrs. Givings with a husband that hardly listens to me. Or like April who never really finds out what love is. Actually experience it. Or end up like Shep who doesn't realize that he has kids. Milly who goes on with this fantasy that everything is perfect, but really her husband isn't fantasizing about her in bed, but her friend.
You have to be a really confident person to make this book not scare you. Or at least confident in your love life, but me? Love is one subject that I'm not acing.
It doesn't matter whether this book is based in the 1950s or in 2002 or in 1508. Have human beings truly changed from then to now? What does it matter? Isn't it still a problem today?
This book was written back in the 1960s based in the 1950s, but that doesn't mean it should stay there. It's a powerful book that is meant to be read no matter what century.
Sora Taylor Community Member 
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