Raymond Carver Essay

What is the title of the text and what is the text about? The title is "Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver. This dark short story is about a man leaving his female partner, and subsequently, they get into an argument over the custody of their single child (Carver, 1981).. What is the author's view? How do I know? The author seems as if he is distancing himself from the story. The main reason I believe this is his lack of detail and overuse of simple sentences. It's like he is telling a painful story he doesn't want to tell. This analysis is further supported by Carver's own history of physical abuse from his father (Hall, 2009, para. 6). Therefore, the author's point of view aligns with morbid realism. What is the evidence presented by the author to support ideas? It is clear early on that the couple's relationship has failed when...show more content... How do I know? The evidence is relevant to the story, especially since there is hardly much detail in the story anyway. The beginning paragraph about the weather sets expectations of the story, and the forgotten well–being of the baby is relevant to the nature of their demise. The story is extremely selective of the detail that is given, and all the detail adds to the tone of the story. Have I heard/read anything similar or dissimilar? What was it? I am reminded only of "The Monkey's Paw," by W.W. Jacobs (1911) because the characters' blind desires in that story reminds me of the power struggle in Carver's story. Also, the outcome in both stories is not what the characters had intended, and in both stories, neither characters were happy with the outcome. Do I agree or disagree with the views expressed by the author? Why? In some ways, I agree with the views expressed by Carver. I agree dysfunction and power struggles can ruin families, emotionally and physically. It's a lesson some people learn only after "committing the sin," so it is important to stay grounded and keep everyone's best interest at

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The Lives and Works of Raymond Carver

With a unique and brilliant style of writing, Raymond Carver has left a lasting and outstanding impact on the history of short stories. Even though Raymond Carver left a long impact, his life was of the opposite. Like Raymond Carver's famous award winning stories, his life was short. Raymond Carver was born on May 25th, 1938 in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mill town on the Columbia River. Carver grew up in Yakima, Washington. Carver had three members to his small family, his mother, his father, and brother. Carver's only had one sibling, his younger brother, James Franklin Carver. Carver's mother worked as a waitress and a retail clerk while Carver's father worked as a fisherman and a saw mill worker. Many say that a skilled sawmill worker and...show more content...

I really wanted to hang in there for the long haul. I thought I could outlast the drinking. I'd do anything it took. I loved Ray, first, last and always." Even though she loved him, Maryann could not take it anymore, and eventually ended her marriage with Carver. This time period was known as the time of Carver's "first life."

Carver found himself in a very dark place. Carver now suffered from alcoholism, many different drug addictions, and even depression as a result of his divorce. Although Carver's life was looking down, he did not give up. Three years later, Carver decided to pull his life together. He attended many Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a decided to take upwriting. Carver even got re–married. After finally getting his life back together, Carver decided to start writing again. This time in his life is the time that he created some of his most famous short–stories. The following are some of those stories: "What We Talk about When We Talk about Love", "The Cathedral", and "Elephant." Carver's second marriage, turn around with his alcoholism and drug addictions, and new writings are all included in what is known as Raymond Carver's "second life."(King)

During Carver's "second life." Carver wrote many different types of short stories. The style and themes of the stories vary greatly. Many of Carver's first short stories were influenced by his early life when he grew up with an alcoholic as a father. His

What We Talk About Love

By Raymond Carver

Why is it we all express love in different ways? How does one's love differ from another's? In Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" both of these questions are inevitably asked, it's up to the reader to interpret them. Two Albuquerque couples gather in a evening sun lit room discussing their experiences with love, and each other. As the sun fades into the horizon and the room reflects its lack of light the mood seems to dim as well. The vast types of love talked about differ in many ways, love that is mature to mad, and contemporary to counterfeit, but all seem to share one common trait, passion.

After reading this short story I felt about the same as Raymond Carver described it to be in the end of the Get

Human Nature and Tragedy in Raymond Carver's "Popular Mechanics"

Thesis statement: The combination of vanity and rage is the catalyst to tragedy in modern relationships. Introduction In the short story "Popular Mechanics," by Raymond Carver there is a relationship between vanity and the human predisposition to rage when faced with loss. This is an analysis of the nature of human relationships and how tragedy tends to result from the vanity of certain individuals. Vanity is defined as taking pride in one's appearance or status in life. People do not like to lose. When people feel as if they are losing something valuable to them, they will act in ways that are often unbecoming and sometimes uncharacteristically violent. Carver tells

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A cathedral is known to be a place where a person performs religious practices in the light of one or more deities. Cathedrals can connect people who share the same beliefs by gathering them all together; the same goes for any religion. In the short story, "Cathedral," written by Raymond Carver, the controlling image is a cathedral, as it is repetitive from becoming the title of the story to the main symbol through the entirety of the narration. Carver makes an appeal to emphasize that – through the story's plot, his style of writing, the captivating use of imagery, and the overall theme of the story – a simple building can shed some light on how one chooses to view the world.

The tale's events unfold by starting with an unnamed narrator "telling...show more content...

The rising action begins as the wife prepares dinner, and subtly points out to the narrator that he is detached and disconnected from the world around him, even saying that "You don't have any friends" (Carver, p. 475). When Robert arrives, he catches up with the narrator's wife, as the narrator inputs his own opinions every once in a while. The narrator takes in Robert's appearance, and surprisingly concludes that he was not a stereotypical blind man with dark glasses and a cane. The trio then "drink heavily and eat a large dinner" (Akers). After the feast, the narrator rudely switches on the television, much to his wife's dismay, and avoids making conversation with Robert. The wife leaves the room, and the narrator and Robert bond with a mutual interest in cannabis. A climactic documentary over cathedrals appears on the television, as the wife returns and falls asleep on the couch. The narrator attempts to describe to the blind man what he sees on the television; however, he struggles and is "unable to find the words to describe a cathedral" (Akers). He admits that "cathedrals do not mean anything special to him" (Stern). Through the falling action of the story, Robert asks the narrator to get some paper and a pen so

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Analysis Of The Rain

By Raymond Carver

Once you love someone–once you truly love someone, not just think that you do–, you can never stop. That's what Maxie learns. Maxie, along with everyone, is quite possibly about to die, and he's still in love. It's raining so hard that the drops of water hurt when they touch bare skin, bruising, and Maxie feels slimy and slippery, wetter than he has ever felt before. Anyone who knows Maxie would know that he hates being wet, but all that he can think about now, as the ground in Sootopolis City is becoming lost in water, as the waves are coming in so strong that he keeps losing his balance, is a scene from ten, fifteen years ago. All Maxie can think about is when he and Archie had gotten caught out in the rain one day when they were so young,

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Underneath the basic plot line of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is a story about a man's battles with himself. He is insecure in his relationship with his wife, has stereotypes about people that need to be broken, and he is cold and distant in all relationships that are seen in the short story. The main character, "Bub", is telling what is believed to be an honest story from the first person perspective. In most stories, the main character is the protagonist and is liked and respected by the readers, but in "Cathedral", Bub is neither liked nor respected because of his judgmental notions and his cold side with his wife and guest. In most stories, the reader expects to like and understand the protagonist from the beginning, but

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Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver Works Cited Not IncludedTypically a story begins with an exposition, which introduces the characters, setting and plot. In the short story ?Popular Mechanics? by Raymond Carver, the exposition is excluded. The story begins with a short rise in action, moves quickly to the climax and totally omits the resolution. Carver uses third person objective narration to reveal the actions and the dialogue between a man and a woman. The narrator gives very little descriptive details, never revealing the characters? thoughts or their motivation. This allows the reader the freedom to interpret and develop their own opinions of the setting, plot, and characters of the story. This also stimulates the reader to...show more content...

Carver begins with the story?s conflict, a relationship between a man and woman that has already gone extremely wrong. He does not need to tell the reader why or how this relationship came to this point. Carver relies on the reader to know the usual reasons that cause people to split up. Therefore, this gives readers the opportunity to attach their own explanation. As the title, ?Popular Mechanics? implies, it is the common workings of relationships that can be applied throughout this story. Finally, it appears that Carver does not give an adequate description of his characters. The male and the female characters in this story are flat, stock characters. Because Carver relies on commonly held gender–based stereotypes this helps the reader to create his or her own image of the characters. The need for physical or psychological description is not necessary. For example, the woman?s opening statement, ?I?m glad you?re leaving! I?m glad you?re leaving! Do you hear?? (265), illustrates that she is a stereotypical, emotional female, who is out of control. Furthermore, the man?s refusal to acknowledge her illustrates a stereotypical male response to conflict. It shows that he considers her unworthy of a response. As if the same fight has occurred many times before and he knows there is no sense in replaying this scene again. The story escalates to a

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By Raymond Carver

"Cathedral" is a short story that was written by Raymond Carver in 1981. Raymond Carver is most well known for his short stories and is even an writer credited with reviving the then dying form of literature. A part of a collection of short stories, "Cathedral" was the last to be published and was included in 1982's Best American Short Stories. "Cathedral is different from the other works of Carver due to the humanistic realism that is given to his characters, which had not been seen before in his works. This shift earned Carver the critical success he always wanted and "Cathedral" became his most famous work. "Cathedral" is Carver's most revered work of literature and is due mostly in part to his shift in style with his storytelling. The story follows the narrator and his wife who has invited her old friend to stay at their home because his wife has just passed away. The friend, Robert, is blind and the narrator's wife worked for him as a reader ten years prior. They remained close and kept in touch by sending audiotapes to one another, recounting what was going on in their lives. Robert's blindness makes the narrator uncomfortable and he does not look forward to his visit, even though it is quite important to his wife. The three spend a somewhat awkward evening together and the narrator become more comfortable with Robert as the night progresses and as his wife falls asleep. The narrator gains some compassion for Robert and attempts to describe what the cathedral on the Get

What makes a piece of literature truly "American?" The study of American Literature covers a plethora of literary genres, ranging from Native American spoken word to short, broken poems. Despite differentiation, American Literature is the umbrella covering these different writings. Jay McInerney wrote a small piece about his mentor, Raymond Carver, titled Raymond Carver: A Still, Small Voice. This piece is a definite example both of American Literature and of an American writer. This piece uses its words to celebrate Raymond Carver's life and to show the impact Raymond Carver had on other American writers. Within a short memoir, you would not expect to find such a striking indication on what truly is American Literature. Raymond Carver, the late writer, is remembered in ashort story. By remembering Raymond, the story proves in itself that Raymond was an American writer who wrote true American Literature. American Literature has commonly celebrated people of strong influence. Today, there have been movies made about American figures such as Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Abraham Lincoln, and many more people of great influence. Important Americans have also been celebrated in poetry, specifically in Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!, an ode to Abraham Lincoln. Just as some widely studied American Literature...show more content...

The impact Raymond Carver had on his students and Jay McInerney led them both to be American writers, and led to the short piece of American Literature that McInerney wrote about his mentor. Perhaps there were no common themes, fictional heroes, or entertaining plotlines; instead, there was a short story that digs at American Literature's core, the diversity of America. American Literature is what one makes it to be, not everything is American Literature, but every piece of literature has parts that are Get more content

Why, honey? is a short story written by Raymond Carver. The story has been written in the form of a mother's letter describing the problematic and untrustful relationship between a fearing mother and her son. Fear, trust and desperation are constantly present in this story which Carver has written to hint a treacherous and heartless image of powerful people masked into a story about a boy and a mother. In the very beginning you can see that you are reading a letter as the story starts with the words "Dear Sir,". In the very first paragraph the author already creates a feeling of something being wrong as the mother tells she is afraid of her son. Immediately the reader gets to know that her son is famous. He's been on newspapers several times...show more content... She tells about how she started fearing, like anyone having gone through those experiences probably would have, and changed her name and address just to hide from her son who she used to love so much and who is now a powerful governor with several vassals. The difference between personalities is even more highlighted but at the same time they merge into a scary combination. The son who took power over his mother and lied to her has studied and educated himself to rise in the political hierarchy, now taking power over millions of people and possibly having reached his position with the same habit of lying he's had since he was a kid. It makes you wonder and hope this isn't what powerful people are truly Get more content

Raymond Carver

"Cathedral" is a short story ultimately about enlightment, finding something more meaningful and deeper with in one self. Although from an observing point of view nothing more in the story happens then a blind man assisting the narrator in drawing a cathedral. Although as known, the narrator's experience radically differs from what is actually "observed". He is enlightened and opened up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience will have a life long effect on him. The reason for this strong and positive effect is not so much the relationship made between the blind man and the narrator or even the actual events leading up to this experience, but rather it is mostly due to what was drawn by the narrator. A...show more content... His further ignorance about the blind are focused in on Robert since he is aware of his upcoming visit. Hearing the marriage stories about Robert from his wife the narrator cannot realize how a woman could love a blind man, "It was beyond my understanding. Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this women must have led" (508). This ignorance and immature understanding of relationships overshadows his attitude toward Roberts visit, unwanted and condescending. His attitude toward the blind man seems to change though before and furtherly during the connection they make as they draw the cathedral together. Although there is no evidence that the narrator's overall ignorances and prejudices are gone from the experience, it is very clear however that he does come to some sort of revelation and enlightment, "My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn't feel like I was inside anything" (515). Because what the narrator draws is a cathedral it is only assumable that this enlightment that the narrator experiences has to do with values of Christianity, in this case it would be a realization of equality and treating people with love, little is said about the effects this revelation has on him. The narrator through out most of the short story comes of as a pretty shallow character. Besides his stereotyping tendencies he comes of as callous and un–imaginative. He shows his lack of

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Reasoning Behind the Unfamiliar In Raymond Carver's story "Cathedral" there are many signs of prejudice, jealousy, misunderstandings and eventually what may appear to possibly be a development of friendship. There is a fair amount of preconceived judgment made by the narrator in regards to an old friend coming to visit his wife. At the beginning of the story the narrator refers to the old friend as "the blind man" (Carver 455) and makes it clear that he "wasn't enthusiastic about his visit." (456) Although, the narrator embarks into unknown territory while preparing for the visit and while engaging with a blind man during his stay, he finds himself seeing the world in a new light. The narrator, whom is eventually referred to as Bub...show more content...

The narrator's wife writes a poem about how "the blind man touch[es] her nose and lips" (456). The narrator shows resentment by acknowledging that he "didn't think much of the poem" (456). The fact that the narrator's wife writes a poem about the blind man physically touching her in an intimate way seems to upset him. He does not seem to press the issue with his wife since it was before meeting her, however it does seem to add to the list of reasons as to why the narrator may not like the idea of the visit to come. Although, the narrator struggles with the misunderstandings behind his wife's and the blind man's relationship it becomes apparent that Robert was in fact married. The narrator is proven to have jealous thoughts and a biased opinion of what blind people are like, but he realizes that Robert was now widowed and has lost a woman that "never [saw] herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one" (Carver 458). Robert was the "husband [that] could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better" (458). These revelations are just a few that possibly help the narrator start to feel some comfort behind the upcoming visit. In addition the narrator has a few prejudice thoughts about the blind man prior to his arrival, but they appear to change as the story evolves. The narrator is not afraid in voicing his Get more content

Lemonade By Raymond Carver

The wide rage of emotions that a person can feel while reading is what distinguishes a simple book from a captivating story. When one reads a story, a good one will take you away from the reality you are in and delivers a new experience for you through the eyes of other. The way that authors are able to convey another world to you is through emotion, they build off the elements around them and everything has to do with the tone they are trying to set. Raymond Carver uses the elements around the characters and the characters themselves to pull his readers in, he gets the readers attached to the lives of the these fictional people and the trials they go through, become in sync with the audience. In the short stories that Carver wrote he hardly ever tell us how the characters felt he simply showed us what they were going through and the feelings followed. Carver doesn't set the tone for you right away in all of his stories, one can assume that it might have a dark end simply because of carver's works but not just based off the writing itself. In the book Shortcuts the short story "Lemonade" he writes " "He goes on to tell me Jim Sr. 's wife took him to thirteen foreign countries in Europe in hopes it'd help him get over it. But it didn't. He couldn't." (pg. ) Carver uses this sentence to show you how upset Jim Sr was about losing his son, it didn't just simply say he was grieving, it showed you that he couldn't even enjoy his vacation because of his sadness. This pattern

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Raymond Carver, who is one America's most well–known short story writers composed stories that are minimalistic in nature and serve as an exemplar of a stylised attempt in depicting the more prosaic aspects of everyday life. Carver's minimalistic style does not rely on capturing the whole story, however, they're generally depicted as a fragment of any life or story of his characters. The nature of his craft is portrayed through characters that all share a certain stoic wit and are usually delineated as characters stuck in the world of alcoholism or working in Blue collar jobs such as diners and motels. In spite of that, characterisation serves as the very essence of Carver's short stories. His stories rely heavily on the narrators to explain

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Raymond Carver's short story So Much Water So Close to Home (2003) had the temporal setting within the American 1970's, during the time when there was mass hysteria of serial killings. Carver's plot took advantage of the hysteria of the 1970's to set up the theme of serial killings within the hypotext. Juxtaposingly,Ray Lawrence adapted Carver's short story (2006) and transformed it into the hyper Australian gothic film Jindabyne. Juxtaposed to the hypotext that [focused] on the serial killings and the oppression of woman, Lawrence's adaptation focuses on the theme of Aboriginal treatment and the spiritual beliefs of the Aboriginal culture. There are inevitable contextual changes when adapting texts, and deliberate ones such as...show more content... They cut off her head and threw her into the Cle Elum River" (Claire, Pg.9). Due to water being closely connected with death and the town being surrounded by water "So much water so close to home" (Claire, Pg. 8). Carver created an external and internal conflict on Claire using water as an analogy, and sets the sinister atmosphere for the story. Verbs that are correlated with water are also used for analogy "I put out my hand and hold on to a parking meter. My head swims" (Claire, Pg.11). Possibly describing the intense internal emotional conflict that was within her after attending the funeral. Carver had positioned the text responder to observe Claire's perspective on men as phallocentric, as the characterisation of Claire treats men in a courteous behavior.

'You all right?' the man says. He raps on the glass. 'You okay?' He leans his arms on the door and brings his face to the window.

I stare at him I can't think what else to do.

'Open the door,' he says as if he isn't listening. 'You're going to choke in there.'

He looks at my breast, my legs. I can tell that's what he's doing. (Claire, Pg.10/11).

Due to the lack of detail that Carver had characterised into Claire's judgement, the text responder is left wondering if the man was actually a threat as Carver intentionally writes as little detail as possible as well as Claire making conclusions on emotional outlet, "He looks at my breast,

my legs. I can tell that's what he's doing" (Claire, Get more content

As with many short stories, Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" only has a few pages to develop his main character and create a scenario he or she must learn from or achieve something from or change because of. In such a short amount of space, word choice is integral in constructing a solid impression of the characters and their personalities in the reader's mind. Carver's simple use of language and sentence structure combined with his choice for point of view creates an intriguing tone and believable character interaction. This story, written as the thoughts of the narrator, is about an oldblind friend of his wife's coming to visit for the first time. The story focuses on the...show more content...

"I'm saying that at the end of the summer she let the blind man run his hands over her face, said goodbye to him married her childhood etc., who was now a commissioned officer..."(218). Every time this officer that is his wife's first husband comes up in the story, the narrator moves on to other subjects quickly. This reveals a jealousy in him that is not plainly written in the story. It allows the reader to learn about the narrator as he sets up the story. Because of this set up, the reader is able to expect and easily see the narrator's jealousy as he is later introduced to the blind man. He also omits names. The reader never learns the names of the narrator or his wife, though she is frequently involved in the story. This allows the reader to focus on essential characteristics of the character. The wife is merely the wife. The blind man is blind. Choice of point of view can change the tone and entire meaning gained from a story. The tone of this story would have been much different if it were written from the wife's point of view. She would not have been seen as the static nagging wife stereotype, the husband himself would have probably be viewed as unsupportive and a slacker, and the reader would have gained a better understanding of who this blind man was. However, for the sake of the story, the importance of the blind man is that he is blind. This is what is important to the narrator and this is what the

Neighbors, By Raymond Carver

"Neighbors" short story X–ray "Neighbors" by Raymond Carver is a short story that tells us about the life of two couples that lives in the same building. One couple was Harriet and Jim Stone, who have a normal life. The stones have been a couple that has a good life, they go out, they enjoy each other, and when a working travel happens, they find a way to transform it in a pleasure travel. The other couple is Bill and Arlene Miller, and they are the main characters in this story. The Millers are a little distant from each other, and they live their life comparing themselves to the Stone's. It is clear that the Millers are tired of the routine of their relationship and when their changed their ways of life they realize that. In this short story...show more content...

Both, Bill and Arlene Miller were acting odd, and they realize that and even commented to each other.The last, but not least point was the positive aspects of the whole story had on the couple. Bil and Arlene Miler were growing apart in their relationship, because they were living the same day over and over again. Bill was a bookkeeper and Arlene was a secretary, they both were bored with their lives. With the situation of being using the neighbor's apartment and having a slight change of environment, the Millers woke their sexual side once lost, and their start to talk mostly often with each other, where before they just communicate about some situations at work or to compare themselves with the Stones. Along the story, their made love many times, and they had conversations between each other's most often than the usual, even if most of the conversations were about the neighbor's apartment. At the end, this short story reflexes the life of many couples in the middle social class, who work everyday to pay their bills, without any fun time or time–off to travel. Their lives get boring and they start to be

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Defenseless

Vulnerability is the key which unlocks the heart to someone else's soul. The short story Beginners, written by Raymond Carver examines divergent views on love, by recollecting the characters personal experiences with it. After reading, it becomes apparent that being in love makes one vulnerable. This vulnerability can either be perceived as a positive or negative characteristic. When the characters bring up their involvements with love, it becomes clear that in all the situations the commonality is vulnerability. One character who specifically struggles with the idea of love imposing vulnerability is Herb.

As mentioned above, vulnerability can be depicted in both a positive and negative manner. When one loves someone deeply they begin to find a sense of trust and security within that person. This new found trust typically causes both people to become more dependent on one another and, this leads them to relinquish control over their hearts. Realizing that you can rely on someone who loves you and has your best interest in mind, can be a beautiful aspect of a relationship. In contrast, being vulnerable to someone can lead to great pain as well because, at that point, one's companion has supremacy over your heart. If they choose to abuse that power, then being defenseless towards that person can be terrifying. Herb endures the negative effects of vulnerability because he suffered a great deal when divorcing his previous wife. In light of that hardship, Herb does

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Raymond Carver's "Popular Mechanics" which allow the reader to wonder upon symbols and make connections because of his limited word choice. The author uses symbols which creates a image in the reader's mind. The actions of the characters help the reader create connections which makes the readers more engaged. The author utilities simple words, but the reader escapes the plot. The phrase "The snow was melting into the dirty water" makes the reader think the word snow represents purity and happiness. The whole mood changes when the author uses the word dirty. The word dirty represents sadness or angry. The reader makes their own choice on how to translate the word dirty. The reader who chooses to go in the path of sadness may think a family

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