Common Threads in the Stories of Raymond Carver

Paper Summary:

Raymond Carver is a writer known for a distinct writing style and for certain themes. The paper explains that one of the things that is seen in many of his short stories is the lack of hope in the lives of his characters. Carver's stories are not ones where the character is saved by some miraculous event. Instead, his stories just describe the lives of these people and their ongoing struggle. The paper discusses how this theme is closely related to Carver's own life and the life of his family. It shows that it is this lack of hope that Carver portrays in his stories, not offering a sign that these people will rise above their problems, but instead focusing on the continual struggle of their lives. The paper discusses three short stories that illustrate this common theme, namely "Why Don't You Dance?," "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," and "Gazebo."

From the Paper:

"The story ends without anything significant happening. The story begins with the lines, "In the kitchen, he poured another drink and looked at the bedroom suite in the front yard" (Carver 3). This sad reflection continues and there is no point where the man finds hope again. Even more significant is the fact that he watches the young couple. This signifies that the whole process will repeat itself. Carver implies that this young couple who seem happy now will ultimately end up the same as the man and his failed marriage. his can be seen as a reflection of Carver's own life. Both himself and his parents had failed marriages, his father struggled with alcoholism he eventually died from, and rather than his mother be saved from poverty, she was thrown into greater poverty by the death of her husband (Garraty & Carnes). This shows where Carver's ideas on love and marriage were obtained from, this story clearly showing that Carver did not believe that a marriage would ever last, or that anyone would ever be miraculously saved from their problems."

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