Analyzing Richard Carver's 'The Bath'

The pattern of imagery and diction that is created in lines 7 -10, uses diction with negative and consequential words to create a negative image of a result of not making a thrust in life. If you are not doing anything interesting with life, you might be putting yourself in a position where you could be criticized and

When Carvers father left the family to work in northern California it was the start of his decline, but it was also a turning point in his relationship with his son who was starting to find his own way in life. Thoughout his dads illness Carver married and started his own family but he mentions “During those years I was trying to raise my own family and earn a living. But, one thing and another, we found ourselves having to move a lot.” (Carver, 387) It is here that we realize the path that Carver is taking is very similar to the one he watched his father take while growing up. His own struggles with alcohol and money seem to be a repeat of his fathers mistakes.

“Wade in the Water” is an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. His masterpiece Revelations was created in1960 and it reflects his experience and memories of growing up in Texas. “Wade in the Water” is a dance within Revelations that shows us a traditional baptism ceremony that takes place in a river. Alvin Ailey’s “Wade in the Water” shows us the hope that blacks had of someday being free. The baptism signifies the faith and hope of blacks being free from slavery and beginning a new life with freedom. For example, in (1:23-1:40) we see three male dancers with what look like tree branches “cleansing” the air from evil spirits before the baptism takes place. In (1:16-1:23) we see seven dancer taking two steps forward and two steps back with their hands together, like they were praying, and two other dancers with their hands up, as if they were asking god for help.

Moreover, Carver uses first person point of view to describe the narrator’s life and the meaning of the cathedral to him. Through the first person point of view given to the narrator and one of the main characters of the story, Carver is able to portray a narrator who is jealous and insecure of himself. The narrator’s

The most significant part of the entire text is that most of the readers will never feel the pain of author. The ability not to be able to relate and understand someone’s struggle is very impactful.

Carver uses foreshadowing as a prominent element in this story. There are many examples of foreshadowing throughout the story. The first time the reader gets to see obvious foreshadowing is when the woman picks up the picture of the baby off the bed where the man is packing his belongings. “Then she noticed the baby’s picture on the bed and picked it up. He looked at her and she wiped her eyes and stared at him before turning and going back to the living room” (277). This small detail foreshadows that physical altercation that the couple will go through with the baby. The last big foreshadow that the reader gets is when the couple knocks over the flower pot. “The baby was red-faced and screaming. In the scuffle they knocked own a flowerpot that hung behind the stove” (277). This is very brief and only mentioned in this sentence. But this is the foreshadowing of the relationship that is broken, or even worse the baby being broken along with the relationship. While there are details at the beginning on the story, there are smaller things that can easily be looked over but are very important. The characters in this story, since it is minimalist fiction, are not ever given names. The characters are always just referred to as; the man, the woman, and the baby. The audience never finds out why the couple is breaking

The first key idea conveyed in Carver’s work is that dealing with problems and hardship, despite being unpleasant, is the first step toward personal enlightenment. This becomes evident when Bub hears his name on the tape his wife plays, “After a few minutes of harmless chitchat, I heard my own name in the mouth of this stranger, this blind man I didn’t even know! And then this: ‘From all you’ve said about him, I can only conclude—’ But we were interrupted, a knock at the door,

The author uses symbolism all through this read to make sure his agenda is met. There is a continuous contrast

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

This idea of living a story that Peterson writes about within his story is one that I view is very important in regards

In the short story, “Cathedral”, Carver uses reader response criticism to let the reader interpret the story by leaving out pieces of information. Carver has been dubbed a “minimalist” for his low-key plots and spare style (34). This approach allows the reader to look deeper into a character without even knowing their name. With the mentioning of alcohol, marijuana, and a suicide attempt, all before the eye-opening moment at the end…it gives the reader a glimpse into Raymond Carver’s own life-long struggle with alcoholism and possible struggles with his life.

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

Carver also emphasizes the contradictions within the characters themselves in the story, which illustrates the uncertainty of love, and how there is not a clearly defined approach to understanding it. Returning to the topic of Terri's previous marriage, Mel, her current husband, complains about his failure to understand how she could refer to that abusive relationship as love. However, later on when she corrects him while he is talking, he turns to her and asks her to "shut up" (Carver 767). Another important contradiction which takes place throughout the entire story, is how the four friends are discussing a subject which they all have had bad experiences with, since they have all been divorced and remarried. The contradictions throughout Carver's story symbolize how love can also contradict itself, and trying to understand love is impossible since so many particular cases can negate specific examples of love.

“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. Whenever I’m sad I’m going to die, or so nervous I can’t sleep, or in love with someone I won’t be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: ‘I’ll go take a hot bath,’ ” (Plath, 12).

Carvers use of diction sets an eerie and depressing mood. The beginning of the story describes