Response to Cheever's "Goodbye, My Brother"

When the narrator speaks of his family, there are small details that stood out to me and would stand out to anyone with a family. When Cheever writes, "Thinking about [the tension in the room]as I carried Lawrence's heavy suitcases up the stairs, I realized that our dislikes are as deeply ingrained as our better passions, and I remembered that once, twenty-five years ago, when I had hit Lawrence on the head with a rock, he had picked himself up and gone directly to our father to complain," one cannot help but get sucked into relating to the scene. I'm sure everyone with a sibling has had an experience similar to that in childhood.
One thing that bogged me down in the story were the big words and flowery phrases. The family made small talk of things like who Cassiopeia was, and seemed to have, generally speaking, more knowledge about literature and history and the world than a normal family would have.
Cheever illustrates tensions that are present in family gatherings very well. By showing the interaction between Mother and Lawrence, the reader senses the family tension even before Mother gets soused and declares that her family is worthless.
I like that the house is a symbol for the family's time together over the years and its subsequent wear and tear. However, I do not like that Cheever assumes the reader will not make the connection, and spells it out instead. Subtlety, in my opinion, is usually a stronger literary technique than making things overtly obvious. The relationship the family has with alcohol, on the other hand, is telling, but not obvious. One other element of the story I appreciated was how the reader was given a glimpse of the various family members' personalities through Backgammon.
Although not much happened in this story plot-wise, character and setting description really brought the situation to life. (Probably the most dramatic scene is when the narrator smacks his brother upside the head, forcefully, but even that doesn't end in death or suicide.)The family's relationship was extremely believable, and the story was, overall, pleasant to read.