"Neighbors"

Raymond Carver
(pg. 137)


  Minimalism... Before this assignment, I had no clue exactly what minimalism was. After reading the story, I think that I now have a better, clearer understanding of what it is exactly. In the textbook under the author's description, the writer describes Carver as the  following: "Carver is considered a master of minimalism, that is, fiction that stresses only the essential of action and description. Generally, his writing is economical, stripped to the bone." (Textbook pg. 137) I feel like this means telling the story while giving out vivid descriptions of each and every moment. In the end, this really takes up most of the story! In this short story, each and every detail is explained to its fullest. One example of this is when it says, "Bill and Jim shook hands beside the car. Harriet and Arlene held each other by the elbows and kissed lightly on the lips." You can see several examples of minimalism within this one small quote. It shows the reader who shook hands...Bill and Jim. Where did they shake hands...beside the car. Harriet and Arlene held each other by the elbows. Also, they kissed, but the story goes into more detail from there. They kissed lightly; the detail of where they kissed is also given...on the lips! My favorite example of minimalism from this story comes from the middle. "He selected a can of fish flavor for the cat, then filled the pitcher and went to water. When he returned to the kitchen, the cat was scratching in her box." I could choose many more quotes, but I think that this one goes into each detail so well. Like i said earlier, I didn't know what minimalism was at all. However, I will say that it has become my favorite so far. Raymond Carver has become my favorite author from this segment! I enjoyed the reading and then writing this post. 


:)lgj