"The task of an American writer is not to describe the misgivings of a woman taken in adultery as she looks out of a window at the rain but to describe four hundred people under the lights reaching for a foul ball. This is ceremony"

John Cheever's quote speaks to the unique role of the American author. Instead of concentrating on the inner chaos of a single individual, the American writer is entrusted with recording the cumulative experience of a larger group. In this case, Cheever is suggesting that the writer must concentrate on the communal experience of four hundred individuals grabbing a nasty ball. This moment of collective action is a ceremony, and it is the American writer's job to record the energy and emotion of the moment. By doing so, the author can create a vivid and powerful image that speaks with the collective experience of the American individuals.