Separating
By John Updike
Summary
Rising Action: Then in the rising action, Richard contemplates whether or not to break the news of his and Joan's (his wife) seperation.
Climax: He breaks the news that they would be seperating for the summer.
Falling Action: The falling action consists all of his kids having different reactions to this news, to finally lead to the conclusion.
Conclusion: Richard forgets why he is doing the separation.
Theme
Major Characters
Dickie, Richard's oldest child, was the one to hear the news last. When he receives it, he is directly characterized to be accepting because of his general reaction. Unlike his brother John, Dickie did not have a riot when he learned about the separation. Also, Dickie is shown directly to be very caring for his family, shown by his interest on what his family's reaction was to the news.