In Raymond Carver's "A Small, Good Thing" a little boy named Scotty is hit by a car, hospitalized, and is unconscious. This is an accident that could happen to anyone and that does happen often to people that would never expect it. Scotty's parents are Howard and Ann and their lives have been just perfect and have been going well until this accident happened to their only son. When something like this happens in life people act differently towards different tragic situations. Howard and Ann both react differently during the horrible situation with their son but in some ways they also react the same.
One thing that is strange is that they both do not really show any emotions towards each other when they first get to the hospital. In some ways it is common not to show any emotions towards people because some people like to cope with the situation by themselves and think about things on their own. Finally, after being at the hospital for awhile and after they had been talking about praying for Scottie, Ann realized that, "For the first time, she felt they were together in it, this trouble. She realized with a start that, until now, it had only been happening to her and to Scotty. She hadn't let Howard into it, though he was there and needed all along" (Carver 240). Ann reacted to the accident very quietly and didn't say much about anything. She just sat there and stared at her son, Scotty, waiting for him to wake up. She didn't want to leave his side. Ann didn't express any emotion to Howard until that moment. It made Ann feel very happy being married to Howard because she knows that he is there for her.
Another difference between the both of them is the way that they reacted to the doctor. Ann kept saying that she thinks something is really wrong and she never really believes the doctor when he say's that Scottie is going to be okay. Ann just keeps asking the question of, "Why doesn't he wake up?" (Carver 239).