“They’re not your husband” is a frank example of how other people’s views are of no importance to Carver. When Bill and Arlene totally invade the privacy of someone else’s life, no mention is ever made of whether what they are doing is of right or wrong. We are given a simple description of what is going on- almost like a report, and we are never given a suggestion of Carver’s views on the situation. He is simply describing real life, giving no indication of whether things like distrust, infidelity and anger are actually wrong.
He lets the readers decide for themselves, as in “Tell the Women We’re Going”- when Jerry hits the two girls with he rock, what he has done is blatantly wrong, but still no indication is given that it is. The most it ever comes to is: “Jerry used the same rock on both girls. First on the girl called Sharon and then on the one that was supposed to be Bill’s. ” There is a slightly depressing tone, but I think only because the reader interprets it in that way.
Carver cleverly uses his language to create a depressing and shocking image because the way he describes it is so matter-of-fact that what is about to happen is completely unpredictable, and still there is no actual proof that he has said that this is wrong. In “Jerry and Molly and Sam” the reader is naturally shocked when Al abandons the dog, giving the impression that Carver is pessimistic, but when you take a closer look, you realise that still he is giving us no impression of what is right. He never tells the reader what to believe or gives his own opinion on the treatment of the dog.
It is plain report of human happenings and feelings. Raymond Carver has the ability to tap into people’s minds and emotions. Whether these emotions are classed as “right” or “wrong” has no significance to him- he only shows the world as it is- unglamorous, mundane, and full of problems. His view on life is not pessimistic, but simply truthful. It isn’t true that he doesn’t care about grief and emotion; he just wants to show it to the world instead of hiding it away and pretending it doesn’t exist. This insight into people’s minds helps us to understand the way people behave instead of dismissing them as strange or mad.
“Lemonade” is an example of the way someone can be labeled for going through a difficult and keeping up to the standards of the self-conscious public. It is an example of just how quick people are to judge and that they can actually be quite spiteful instead of helping people through difficult periods. Jim Sears cannot seem to bring himself out of a depression he has been going through since his son died. The opening scene is a frank description of how people are judged on face value. “Jim Sears didn’t look like a man who’d lose his only child to the high waters”. It helps to understand that these people need helping rather than shoving away.
