John Cheever's The Enormous Radio tells the story of Jim and Irene Westcott's discovery of their neighbor's daily conflicts through a newly purchased radio. The significance of the radio being "newly purchased" is that the Westcotts do not appear to have any financial problems; they live a comfortable middle-class life thanks to Jim's income. Cheever exposes the idea of ​​social classes and their negative effect on the Westcott family, encouraging comparisons between the individual's quiet status and social status approval. Cheever begins the story by explaining the social class status of the Westcotts, stating: "Jim and Irene Westcott were the sort of people who seem to attain that satisfactory average of income, effort, and respectability which is attained by statistical reports in the university's alumni newsletters. (Cheever 101) It is assumed that the other residents of their apartment complex live a similar lifestyle. Through the development of the personal lives of the Westcotts' neighbors via "the huge radio", Irene realizes that the middle-class households around her live...