Narrator and point of view

The events presented in the short story “Reunion” by John Cheever are told by a first-person narrator, Charlie, who is also one of the story’s main characters. 

Charlie’s perspective of the events helps readers understand the clash between the boy’s wishes and the reality he faces after meeting his father: “I hoped that someone would see us together. I wished that we could be photographed. I wanted some record of our having been together” (p. 1, ll. 17-19). Charlie loves his father and looks up to him, misses him and craves his presence, and sees their reunion as an opportunity to reconnect. 

Throughout the story, the narrator is silent and only presents what he sees and hears. In this way, readers can figure out that Charlie’s father is an alcoholic and unaware...