Analysis of Everything Stuck to Him – Written by Raymond Carver In the many works of Raymond Carver, there are always a vast amount of themes that can be found in all of his stories. While there are several that can be found in his short story, Everything Stuck to Him, there will be only one that this paper will focus on. That theme is identity. Out of all of themes that are present in this story, the theme of identity sticks out more than the others; at least to this reader. The theme identity starts out as something that is barely there, if it can be seen at all, to being able to see identity being formed as the story progresses, with the story ending with identity finally being realized. This is a process that occurs during three …show more content…
This is important as it also symbolizes the change that has come into the boy and girl's life, the birth of their daughter. This has once again completely changed the boy and girl's life…they have now become parents and at such a young age as well. Before the birth of their daughter, the boy and girl would discuss their dreams and pretty much go about their lives as they were before they got married. This is clearly seen as the boy is still more than happy to go out hunting, even after the birth of his daughter. This makes it clear that he is not ready to accept his identity as a father and by extension his identity as a husband. It is unknown if the girl takes to her role as a mother or not, as the story seems to focus mainly on the boy so it is left up to the reader to decide. The boy's claim to his husband identity is brought to question as it comes to light that he seems to care more for his wife's two sisters than he does his own wife. So now the boy is not only battling against his identity as a father but as a husband as well. This causes the boy to have to come to a decision one cold morning. The night before was filled with the cries of the baby that no matter what the boy or girl did simply would not stop crying; as such the girl was trying desperately to figure out what is wrong with her baby while the boy curses out of sheer frustration and stress for not being able to stop the baby from crying. The night passes with
He uses terms such as the “boy” and the “girl” when referring to himself and his ex wife as a young couple. The boy proves to be immature; he says that if he wasn’t married to her, he could go for her sister. The boy becomes upset when his wife doesn’t want him to go hunting and she wants him to stay home to help with his child. “ ‘You heard what I said,’ the girl said. ‘If you want a family, you’re going to have to choose…’ Then the boy took up his hunting gear and went outside. He started the car. He went around to the car windows and, making a job of it, scraped away the ice” (Carver). This proves the boy is not ready for the relationship or the long road ahead to raise the child with his wife. Carver also uses flashbacks to when they were younger and deeply in love. “The two kids were very much in love. On top of this they had great ambitions. They were always talking about the things they were going to do and the places they were going to go”(Carver). Carver exemplifies that the two are still young, only 17 and 18 years old, and it was impossible for them to know what true love is when one of them hasn’t even fully become an adult. Reality sets in for the two when they start to have struggles with their living situation. The newborn child is always with the wife, and during the winter, the husband is always busy moving snow or
It shows that the boy is trying to escape. It's sad that his mother wasn't able to do nothing her
What is identity? Is it something you are born with? Is it something you become? Can it change? In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, we watch Junior Spirit, the main character, take a journey in order to discover who he is. Junior is a boy living on the Spokane Reservation in Washington, who decides to attend a white high school, Reardan, in order to hold onto his dreams and create opportunities for himself. But, as the book progresses, Junior struggles between his two identities: an Indian on the reservation and a white student at Reardan. It takes many events, which seem to force Junior to choose a side, and several tragic deaths of Junior’s family, which drive him into grief and hopelessness, in order
The identity of someone is defined by multiple factors. Inside this word identity, factors shown in characters make the word carry meaning. The character, Brother, in the nonfiction story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst demonstrates three main traits in a story that starts in Eastern North Carolina in the early 1900s when the end of summer and beginning of fall is about to occur. The main character's family has just had a child a few months earlier, his name, is Doodle. Doodle is not like everyone else, he has different traits due to his birth defect. Brother’s identity is portrayed through his actions with his brother. They include how he acts towards family, how he represents his age, and how the community influences him.
Conflict was used effectively in the short story to reveal the theme of the story. The boy has an internal conflict about which parent to stay with, and because his father left, he seemed to have favored him. He wanted him back so badly that every night, he watches him on the six o’clock news while wearing his old jackets. He was blinded by his father’s sudden departure that he forgot about what is really important. Additionally, another development in the short story’s conflict has been used effectively to reveal the theme. When the boy went to Macdonald’s to see his father’s true colors, he thought: “I finished my drink quickly, thankful that he had to be back in the studio for the news.” By the time he saw his dad for the first time in a while, he knew he was not the man he thought he was. At that moment, he also realized that he lost sight of what he had all this time: His mother’s unconditional love. If it wasn’t for the characterization of
The use of repetition of certain words is used throughout the story and its use in this passage emphasizes the opposing feelings of the parents.
Through the mother, we see that dreaming may lead to a painful disappointment. The mother has an unrealistic image of her and her future husband as an idyllic, respectable and happy couple, which is not true in reality. “… avoiding the riotous amusements being beneath the dignity of so dignified couple”. She is trying to make an image of herself as an intelligent, domestic and interesting woman, which shows
Throughout history, different people have many struggles with their identity and trying to figure out who they are. When I was younger, I struggled with my identity and who I was to my family and my friends. I did not know how to be myself without being called names or being looked at funny. At the house I would act one way towards my parents and my siblings, and at school I would act differently towards my friends to fit in. This time period of my life is well conveyed throughout different characters in many books. Harper Lee demonstrates the struggle of identity greatly in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, the author develops two characters, Calpurnia and Dolphus Raymond, that struggle with their identity to
The search for identity is a seemingly difficult task. There are numerous challenges preventing many from discovering who they are. In Collier’s short story Marigolds, the author uses the narrator’s transformation to show that during stressful times, one's true identity is established. The narrator gives a description of her childhood in the exposition of the story. Lizabeth described her childhood as, “After our few chores around the tumbledown shanty, Joey and I were free to run wild in the sun with other children similarly situated. For the most part, those days are ill-defined in my memory, running together and coming like a fresh water-color painting left out in the rain” (Collier 24). Lizabeth recalls living a leisurely childhood in Maryland. The author’s use of characterization is significant because it gives the reader insight into the life of the narrator. Lizabeth frolics with the other kids in the neighborhood and has a relaxed life. Sometimes Lizabeth harasses Miss Lottie
One’s identity is the most important part about them. Without one’s identity, there is nothing about them that makes them who they are. This is why the struggle to find one’s identity is one of the hardest struggles to take place within someone. Because the struggle to find one’s identity can be so difficult, a lot of writers today have used this motif in their books, as this has become a topic many readers can relate to. A book that highlights this topic very much is “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros. This book is about a young girl named Esperanza, who moves to a new house and a new community, and struggles with finding her identity and fitting in the community. The book is written in a series of vignettes, or small poems
It also shows a shift from the present situation to a future one then back to the present. In the beginning of the poem the son is currently waiting for his father to tell him a story and has a sense of eagerness to him while the father has a sense of tiredness to him. This scene is depicted as the father being “in a room full of books in a world of stories,” (6-7) yet the father has difficult trying to come up with a story to tell despite how many are around home. The room that they are in is described as having books of stories inside of it and outside of the room is the whole world that is full of stories to tell. At this point the problem is that the father cannot think of a story to tell his son who asked him to tell him a new story which, according to the father, seems to be the beginning of the end. The father believes that since he is not able to tell stories as quickly and easily as he could before then one day soon, “the boy will give up on his father,” (8-9). These thoughts help to prepare and give background to the glimpse into the future when the boy is getting ready to leave his father by packing his clothes and having his keys ready to go. Since the father saw the day he would lose his son to manhood, once the day actually came the father seemed very upset at the boy but not for leaving but more so for the reasons that he is. The father yells at the son, “Are you a god...that I sit mute before you? Am I a god that I should never disappoint,” (16-18). It seems that the father and son have had an argument or disagreement and the son did not want to deal with all the problems that had grown to be too much for him so he chooses to not say anything to his father at all as he is getting ready to leave. The father calls him out on this and claims that he is imperfect and will disappoint
Over the course of your life, you come to struggle with the philosophical idea of personal identity; the thing that makes you, you. Oneself may shape their identity around aspects of their life that they have no control over like race and physical traits, as well as decisions that are made throughout their lives like affiliations and religion. Your personal identity can be seen through your passions and interactions with others. An individual’s search for their identity is something that may occur in everyone’s’ life. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie highlights the theme of how the search for identity is always prevalent, through the conflicted characters of Junior and Mary throughout the novel.
In exploring the problem of identity in Black literature we find no simple or definite explanation. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that it is rooted in the reality of the discriminatory social system in America with its historic origins in the institution of slavery. One can discern that this slavery system imposes a double burden on the Negro through severe social and economic inequalities and through the heavy psychological consequences suffered by the Negro who is forced to play an inferior role, 1 the latter relates to the low self-estimate, feeling of helplessness and basic identity conflict. Thus, in some form or the other, every Negro American is confronted with the
Almost all teens experience some sort of an identity crisis. They struggle with finding a clearer sense of themselves. Arnold Spirit Jr., a 14-year-old reservation Indian, faces an identity crisis when he leaves his reservation to go to school in Reardan, a town inhibited by white people. To begin, Arnold moves between different settings, and when he does, there is a change in his identity. Moreover, there is a change in his character as he moves between cities. Finally, Arnold experiences an identity crisis as well as conflicts with his community. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the author uses literary elements to emphasize that one’s racial and ethnic identity changes depending on the social surrounding.
Identity is who a person is or how they see themselves, but is this something they are born with or is it something they learn over time? Can this identity be changed? Or is it permanent once set? Identity is a major theme in Toni Morrison’s Sula. Scholars discuss the different identities that the characters possess, but tend to fail to mention character development or lack of character development. Character development or lack thereof is usually an important literary move in most writing. This development provides a deeper understanding of characters in addition to a deeper understanding of themes throughout the literature. Sula focuses mainly on the lives of Sula and Nel, which makes tracking their character development easier to track and observe their identity and sense of self. Identity is a major, yet easily overlooked theme in Sula.