The Enormous Lie Exposed in Enormous Radio John Cheever's "The Enormous Radio" begins with the Westcotts appearing as the perfect "all-American" family. Cheever describes them as “the kind of people who seem to achieve that satisfactory average of income, effort, and respectability” (Cheever 817). The ironic aspect of this story is that the Westcotts are far from the "perfect family" and the community they try to conform to is just as flawed as the Westcotts themselves. One way the Westcotts try to conform to their society is by maintaining secrecy. the fact that they listen to the radio and participate in musical events. This is because these activities were not something members of their community did, much less talked about. The reader knows this because Cheever says that "the Westcotts differed from their friends, their classmates, and their neighbors only in their interest in music. They went to lots of concerts even though they never told anyone about it" (817) . What proves that the Westcotts are not the "perfect family" and that the society they try to conform to is equally imperfect, is the fight between the Osborns. This shows that the Westcott community is flawed because Mr. Osborn overheard was an abusive husband. Irene tells Jim, "Mr. Osborn beats his wife! They argued and now he beats her" (822). This incident causes the Westcotts to question the "perfection" of their marriage, and Jim and Irene end up having a disagreement over dishonesty. And it is widely accepted that dishonesty and physical abuse are not qualities of a “perfect” marriage. Another way it is shown that the Westcotts are not flawless is when Jim gives his angry speech to Irene. This speech implies how he is "fed up" with her addiction to the radio and disgusted by the fact that she stole jewelry and money from his sister and the casual way in which she went for an abortion (824). Even his coat is symbolic in showing the Westcotts' true nature. Irene's cloak was "of deer skins, dyed to resemble mink" (817). The fact that the coat was dyed to resemble something of higher status than it actually was can be used as a metaphor to describe the nature of the Westcotts: they were one way when they presented themselves to society (high class and socially conscientious, like the coat and the Westcott wedding appeared) and in another way when they were in the privacy of their own home (not well done, like the coat and what their wedding was really like).