Escaping the Cage of Conformity
Escaping the Cage of Conformity John Cheever’s “The Country Husband” reveals the darker side of suburbia in which we see residents of Shady Hill trapped in a cage of conformity. ... ” Though Francis wants to rid himself of this life of conformity he seems to fall into a trap where he must obey the ethics of society because the outcome of escaping would result in ostracizing him from the safety of his home community. Although escaping the confines of suburbia would allow Francis to become an individual and let him to lead a life where he is happy unfortunately he does place value on what society would think about him. ... Though Francis receives glimpses of life outside of conformity it is sadly too much of a risk for him to undertake.