According to van Gorp , a short story is a single-episode narrative with a limited number of characters. The descriptions of the setting and the character's evolutions are restricted. The writer focuses his attention on one character in an everyday situation, which implies an essential event. The story begins in medias res and has an abrupt and surprising ending. Raymond Carver is a real short story writer because "Fat" fully confirms this definition.
The waitress and the obese customer are the main characters in the story, whereas the nine other characters are less important. Carver describes an absolutely normal situation but it is going to change the life of the I-narrator. The arrival of the obese customer can be seen as the essential event: the waitress gains a clear insight into her emotional life thanks to him. The setting is restricted to a restaurant, Rita's place and the waitress" home and they are briefly described. The waitress is the only character who changes during the story, she is the only round character. Carver throws the reader into the middle of the scene and the ending leaves room for discussion.
2. "Fat" : a typical Carver story?.
Carver is a minimalist writer and that's why "Fat" is written in an easy and colloquial language. According to Mrs Chapman , minimalism inverts itself in the stripping away of unnecessary language that might interfere with the audience's own interpretation. As a consequence the sentences are short and Carver uses no complex metaphors:.
I feel depressed. (p69) .
Here is what I tell her. (p64).
As Mrs Chapman has suggested, Carver prefers the first person narrative to an omniscient narrative voice. This allows Carver to step back from the story and have less of an interpretive influence. Carver doesn't guide the reader in what they should think of the short story. At the same time it gives a greater sense of realism to the story because it seems as if Carver has no control over the characters.
George Washington Carver George Washington Carver was an African American scientist who won international fame for his agricultural research. ... The Carvers taught him to read and write. ... Carver died on Jan. 5, 1943. Carver received many awards for his accomplishments. ... And In 1951, the George Washington Carver National Monument was established on 210 acres of the Missouri farm where Carver was born. ...
Carver was a very productive student at this school. ... The Works of Carver After graduating, Carver accepted an invitation from Booker T. ... Carver wanted to make a change everywhere that he could. ... Carver received many awards for his accomplishments. ... Also in 1951, the George Washington Carver National Monument was established in Missouri on the farm where Carver was born. ...
Carver's works reflect many hardships he experienced during his lifetime. ... Simple, ordinary language is the main part of Carver's work. ... The character, in this case Carver himself, is ready to die, and wants his wife to move on. ... Led by his own experience, Carver believes that everyone can change. Even the most desperate man, according to Carver, can find a new place and start again. ...
Carver was born a slave in Missouri. ... Carver improved soil with his own blend of fertilizers. ... Carver had experimented with various types of fertilizers. ... In 1940, the Carver Research Foundation was formed at Tuskegee. ... George Washington Carver died in 1943 at the age of 82. ...
Raymond Carver: A Clearer View The year 1977 was an extraordinary year for Raymond Carver. Within twelve months Carver completely changed his life. ... It is obvious that many of Carver's characters are in many ways an image of Carver himself. ... Carver's early life consisted of a lot of chaos. ... Carver doesn't give away the ending. ...
Author Biography Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, on May 25, 1938, to laborer Clevie Raymond Carver and homemaker Ella Beatrice Carver. ... Carver graduated from high school in 1956 and took a job working at a sawmill. ... By the time he was twenty, Carver was the father of two children. ... In September of 1983, Carver published the collection Cathedral. ... Carver began battling cancer in 1987. ...
As the story commenced, Carver focused on his views on gender. ... It was very interesting, when Carver changed how we depict "typical" feminine and masculine characteristics. Claire toke a more masculine figure when Carver wrote, "I slap him before I realize. ... Carver contradicted what society thought about the action female could perform. ... Throughout the story Carver utilizes literary devises such as narrative point of view to clarify his theme. ...
It is the final story in Carver's collection Cathedral published in 1983. ... Cathedral is generally considered to be one of Carver's finest works. ... Carver was the son of a sawmill worker. ... These critics maintain that Carver left too much to be imagined. ... Carver's suspicion of language reflects his social outlook. ...
Raymond Carver and Denis Johnson dig into these experiences. ... With Carver the characters are average people that the reader can identify with easily. ... Women are very important to Carver and Johnson. ... In "Collectors" by Carver, Mr. ... With Johnson, women work in a different way, but are very similar to Carver. ...
