Raymond Carver Story Analysis - Book Report/Review Example

(Assignment) “What we talk about when we talk about love Raymond Carver The story ‘What we talk about when we talk about love’ by Raymond Carver looks exceptional for its close observation and accurate expression of human behavior through very realistic conversations. The story succeeds in developing certain characters which are very commonly seen in the day-to-day life, and hence, the story looks like a chapter from an autobiography. ‘What we talk about when we talk about love’ can be considered one of the best stories of Carver. The story tries to explore the notion of different people about love, the uncertainty they face in their love life and the common ideological conflicts they face. In addition, one can see a certain degree of effort from the part of Carver to show the hollowness of the so called ‘true-love’ and its short term nature. The basic ideology the writer tries to express through this story in which nothing happens seems to be that every ‘true love’ contains a certain degree of selfishness as a basic element, and this selfishness haunts every person at varying degrees. In the story, four people sit around a table in an afternoon and start discussion on the topic love while drinking gin. The four people, Terri, her husband Mel, the writer and his wife Laura engage in a discussion on the true meaning of love, though Mel leads the discussion. While Terri and Mel seem to have differences in opinion on the subject, and a greater degree of insecurity too, the other people appear strong in their attachment. However, one can see exhibition of selfishness reaching the extent of violence and even killing exhibited by some characters. The first factor that needs to be analyzed seems to be the degree of selfishness expressed by each character. The former love of Terri deserves that place. His love turned a physical obsession with violence. The man loved Terri so much that he even tried to kill her. Terri knows it was love and even now, after marrying Mel, she says ‘I know it was’. As she says it, one can see a rise in the feeling of insecurity faced by Mel and he even strongly argues that true love is spiritual in nature and it has nothing to do with physical. One can see his humble efforts to prove that what Terri got from her first lover was not love. However, Terri seems to possess little idea about the feeling of insecurity her husband faces, or is totally neglecting it, stating again and again that her first lover loved her very much. It seems from the story that the couple, though sit and drink together, lives in two different poles and have little common consensus. The story makes it clear that though Mel does not like his wife meeting her former lover, she visited him again on his death bed. She accepts the fact that she and Mel spent many days in the fear of that man attacking them, but, even then, she keeps a ‘soft corner’ for him against the wishes of her husband. However, she feels happy, contented, and satisfied in the fact that her husband does not like to talk to his first wife Majorie. She happily explains to others that Mel wishes that Majorie be married again or dies. Thus, the writer succeeds in picturizing how selfishness and obsession are intermingled in the feeling of love. In addition, it shows the female ability to feel for two people at the same time. Terri, based on her personal convenience, jumps from one to another totally ignoring the impact of her activities on the others. Terri even now knows that her first lover loved her and knows very well that Mel loves her. However, she still goes on keeping sentiments for the former lover and yet prefers to live with Mel as it does not involve physical violence. Thus, she adopts a position that is good to no one. Her behavior seems annoying Mel a great deal and that seems to be the reason for his admiration of the narrator’s wife Laura and saying to Laura “if I did not have Terri, I would fall in love with you”. However, this statement instantly hurts Terri and she says “Tell your story… then we will go to that new restaurant” (Carver, 151). The story presents Mel as a man who knows the minds of people very well. He gets seriously hurt by the fact that his wife still possesses a degree of attachment with her former lover and that the attachment is creating differences in opinion in their marital life. However, Mel seems to possess little idea about the various forms of love. He fails to understand the fact that Terri was very much loved by her former lover and that his love had turned mania. However, the narrator and his wife Laura seem much mature in the love life and they give no chance for any issue to crate tension in their love. They go on engaging in acts of intimacy ranging from kiss and caress instead of making lengthy conversations, and look highly conscious about the inflammatory nature of the situation. One can see that Mel possesses a very clear and definite idea about the kind of love he prefers and what true love should be. He tells the story of a couple of 70 who were admitted in the hospital after an accident. Mel says that ‘the old man was sad because he could not turn his head to see his wife (Carver, 151). Thus, the writer beautifully reveals how Terri and Mel’s relationship turned sour, and this difference in opinion, many a time, reaches the brink of violent outburst but they keep it under wrap and exhibit through dialogues with dual meanings. However, the narrator and his wife Laura are presented as more mature, and the moments that can create confrontation are used by both of them to reassure each other of love and care through gestures. The degree of dissatisfaction that arises in marital relations as time passes also gets beautifully presented by the narrator. Terri points out that the narrator and Laura seem happy together because they are still in honeymoon and she points out that it makes her sick (Carver, 143). Her revulsion to intimacy was developed over time and it took birth as a result of the differences in opinion she has with Mel. Revulsion in marital relations and its suppression and exhibition in indirect ways, especially by female characters is seen in other stories of Carver too. For example, in the story ‘So much water so close to home’ violence erupts as a result of the dissatisfaction the wife Claire feels about the behavior of her husband Stuart. In this story too, the writer gives the hint that as time progresses, violence inevitably takes place in love relationships. To illustrate, in ‘So much water so close to home’, it is written that “once during a particularly bad argument, over what she cannot now remember, five years or so after they were married, he tells her that some day this affair will end in violence” (Carver). In this case, though Claire fails to remember what issue created the conflict, she still remembers the possibility of violence her husband pointed out. She very well notices the word ‘affair’ used by her husband even five years after their marriage. In the story ‘So much water so close to home’, Claire, the wife, feels total detachment from her husband Stuart despite the best efforts from the part of Stuart. In addition, the story too presents violence as a very common component of love life. When Terri was dragged around her house by her former lover for his love towards her, Claire hits her husband for the kind of detachment and dissatisfaction she feels. In both the stories, the characters exhibit lack of communication and indirect ways of expression, and in both the cases, the disruptions arose after the initial years of marriage. In total, it can be said that the writer explores the vicissitude of human emotions, the different ways humans use to express their dislike and detachment, and the short-term nature of romantic love. However, the writer puts an effort to show that true love exists through the story of the old couple. To sum up, it can be said that the story ‘What we talk about when we talk about love’ seems a great work by Raymond Carver, that deals with in-depth analysis of human behavior and the different ways of its expression; both directly and subliminally, through words and deeds. In total, the story looks an effort to show that true love exists but depends on the attitude of the people. In other words, selfishness and lack of communication kill the essence of love. Read More