Fall River

"Fall River" is a short story by John Cheever which originally appeared in the political journal The Left in the fall of 1931. The story is included in Thirteen Uncollected Stories by John Cheever (1994) published by Academy Chicago Publishers. "Fall River" is Cheever's second published work. Plot "Fall River" is told from a first-person point of view. The story describes the effects of a Depression-era closure of a textile factory in an unnamed town in New England. Cargo vessels sit empty in the harbor. Desperation and demoralization grips the local population who are entirely dependent on the mill to provide jobs and fuel the local economy. The narrator shares rent with a companion. Unemployed, their rental payments are three weeks in arrears. With spring approaching, there is no sign that the factory will reopen. The wealthy mill owners in Boston are paralyzed by the financial disaster, and are anxious that labor unrest will become organized.