Five-Forty-Eight
... the author uses the narrator to objectively describe the situation. “The sidewalk was crowded . . . [He] stopped and looked into a store window . . . then he saw her image.” (529). Interestingly, this causes the reader to feel defensive towards Blake, as he appears to be a victim. It also leaves the reader wondering how these two people are connected and why Blake is being followed. Cheever’s effective use of an omniscient narrator, however, provides the reader with an explanation: “Personnel had sent her up one afternoon – he was looking for a secretary . . . When she had been working for him for three weeks – they stayed late one night and he offered, after work, to buy her a drink . . . I have some whiskey at my place,” she said. “She gave him a drink and said that she was going to put on something more comfortable. He urged her to. . . The next day . . . he called personnel and asked them to fire her.” (530-31). The omniscient characteristics of the narrator are further demonstrated in how the reader is made to feel Blake’s increased anxiety and fear. “She might be meaning to do him harm – she might be meaning to kill him.” (529). As the story progresses, Blake boards the local train – the five-forty-eight – in an effort to escape this woman. Again, the story’s point of view contributes to the increased anxiety the reader feels while learning of Blake’s precarious situation. The situation turns potentially deadly with the revealing of the pistol Ms. Dent, Blake’s former secretary, is carrying. Since Cheever is using a limited omniscient narrator, the reader is only provided with facts about Ms. Dent. On the other hand, the reader has a clear picture of all of Blake’s thoughts, feelings and actions, deepening the suspense. In realizing that help is not arriving, Blake’s thoughts are revealed: “As soon as he had felt these regrets, he realized their futility. It was like regretting his lack of suspicion when she first mentioned her months in the hospital. It was like regretting his failure to have been warned by her shyness, her diffidence, and the h...