In John Cheever's "The Stories of John Cheever," the author reflects on the practices of a family known for their disdain for keeping mementos. This mindset extends to their rejection of tangible reminders of the past, including letters and photographs, which they would rather destroy than preserve. Cheever suggests that the act of writing letters was unlikely, as there was a strong aversion to anything that connected them to former experiences or memories.

The family's intense desire to eliminate anything that could serve as a reminder suggests deeper themes of denial and the rejection of personal history. Such actions highlight the conflict between memory and the desire to start anew, illustrating how the characters grapple with their past while attempting to move forward in their lives.