In How About This? by Raymond Carver we have the theme of hopelessness, struggle, acceptance, change and separation. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the opening sentence of the story the reader realises that Carver is exploring […]

In The Ducks by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, mortality, detachment, doubt, fear and conflict. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Carver is using the […]

In Why, Honey by Raymond Carver we have the theme of trust and fear. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is written in the form of a letter (an epistolary narrative) and at no stage in the story is the reader certain as to who the letter is addressed […]

In Jerry and Molly and Sam by Raymond Carver we have the theme of change, insecurity, guilt, control and conflict. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator. Very early on in the story Carver explores (slightly) one of the main […]

In Put Yourself in My Shoes by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, identity, conflict, confrontation and writing. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader realises that Carver may […]

In The Student’s Wife by Raymond Carver we have the theme of longing, confinement, desperation, paralysis and powerlessness. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator, however it does appear that the point of view of the narrator matches that of […]

In Collectors by Raymond Carver we have the theme of paralysis, identity and privacy. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by a man called (at least the reader believes it to be) Mr Slater. From the beginning of the story, Carver explores the […]

In Night School by Raymond Carver we have the theme of desperation, loneliness, letting go, paralysis and escape. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story Carver appears to be exploring the theme of […]

In What’s in Alaska? by Raymond Carver we have the theme of awareness, infidelity, trust, acceptance, freedom and paralysis (or inaction). Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator, however it does appear that the view-point of the narrator matches that […]

In Sixty Acres by Raymond Carver we have the theme of  tradition, doubt and conflict. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and begins with the main protagonist, Lee Waite, receiving a phone call from his friend and fellow American […]

In Nobody Said Anything by Raymond Carver we have the theme of conflict, escape, desire, curiosity and resolution. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young teenage boy called R. and begins with R. waking up and hearing his parents arguing. Immediately […]

In The Father by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, letting go, alienation and identity. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and in many ways Carver begins and ends the story (through the use of the colour […]

In Are You A Doctor? by Raymond Carver we have the theme of identity, temptation and trust. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and begins with the main protagonist, Arnold Breit, while at home, receiving a call from a […]

In They’re Not Your Husband by Raymond Carver we have the theme of embarrassment, appearance, acceptance, control, obsession, selfishness and insecurity. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story Carver appears to be exploring […]

In The Idea by Raymond Carver we have the theme of secrecy, privacy, excitement and voyeurism. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed female narrator and immediately the reader is brought into the sense of secrecy in the story. The narrator […]

In Neighbors by Raymond Carver we have the theme of freedom, escape, curiosity, control and voyeurism. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and very early on in the story the reader gets some insight into one of the main […]

In Fat by Raymond Carver we have the theme of connection, change, control and choice. Taken from his Will You Please Be Quiet, Please collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed woman and begins with the reader being told about a conversation that the narrator had with her friend Rita. […]