Jonathan Franzen "Good Neighbors" THE NEW YORKER

　　This is a shocking story. It depicts a destruction of a happy family of Water and Patty Berglund, who buy a house on Barrier Street when they are newly married. Patty was an energetic friendly housewife. Walter was a lawyer. He has weak character and niceness is his asset.There are three causes for the destruction, which of course are closely connected with each other. They are: 1)Joey, their son; 2) Carol, their neighbor; and 3) Walter. 　　Joey’s stubbornness and rebellion against his father (He calls his father “Son.”) is unbelievable for a Japanese reader like me. Because of the severe fight between Patty and Joey, Joey lives with the Monghams. Another cause, Carol Mongham, has a lot of nerve to have Patty babysit her daughter, Carol. Later, Carol’s boyfriend, Blake begins to live with the Morghams and cuts down trees, the noise of which makes Patty so mad that she is not accepted in the neighborhood. A third responsibility falls on Walter, who upsets so easily and does not set foot in the minefield. It’s a pity that none of the destruction causes could have been avoided. Patty seems to be 　　Since Walter devotes himself to his work, his sister Jessie leaves home to enter university in the East, and Patty avoids living on Barrier Street, the house began to corrupt and finally is sold to a black family. 　　Jonathen Franzen describes the process of the destruction inserting one incident after another skillfully before the reader realizes the destruction. 　　I hate the Paulsens, who are always detached from the turmoil and take a cynical attitude toward it. They are irresponsible by-standers who, without getting involved in the trouble, enjoy watching a family fall apart. Waht "Good Neighbors" they are! 　　I understand the neighbors’ “overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude at how normal their own children are.” 　　I feel sorry for Patty for having to leave the house and live in the Nameless Lake cottage after all years’ hard work and devotion to the neighborhood. 　　　　　　　such a cheerful Patty 　　　　　　　 　　lost everything 　　　　　　　　　 　　　lives lonely in the Nameless Lake cottage Finding 1 the description of each character is excellent especially when it comes to the language they use. The Paulsens use educated and sophisticated vocabulary, while Carol use easy words with lots of "and," which symbolizes her poor logical way of thinking. By clearly distinguishing the language level, the authour succeeds in visualizing the characters.