Neighbor
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Raymond Carver (1938-1988) full name Raymond Clevie Carver.
Raymond Carver was born in Clatskanie, a mill town on the Columbia River in Oregon. His father was a sawmill worker and an alcoholic, Carvers mother worked as a waitress or as a retail clerk or else stayed home. He was an American Short-story writer and poet. Carver wrote the book “Short cuts” the book contains nine short stories and one poem, in 1993 Robert Altmans made the film Short Cuts which was based on several of Carvers stories.
Carvers short fiction is often compared to Stephen Crane (1871-1900) and Ernest Hemmingway (1898-1961) – (both Authors and poets) they all write in post-modern version, called minimalism. Carver himself did not like the label, because it “smacks of smallness of vision and execution.”
Carvers reputation continued to grow after his death at the age of fifty.
The American short story “Neighbors” contains different themes; one of the main themes is how people always supposedly think that other people have a better life than themselves, and how they feel they are trapped in their own life. Bill and Arlene are a perfect example in this story; they think the grass is greener on the other side, that is at their neighbors house Harriet and Jim. They are really just assuming that they have a better life, because they really dont know the Stones that well they have what I would call a shallow neighbour relationship.
The short story “Neighbors” is about two couples the Millers (Bill & Arlene) and the Stones (Harriet & Jim). The Millers envy the Stones because they think they have a complete life, a perfect life. The Stones are going to Cheyenne because Jim has some Work there, Harriet is going with him, and at the same time they are visiting some relatives in St. Louis. Thats what the Stones do they combine business with pleasure trips and it seems to bother the Millers, they feel their life is going in a circle where everything is repeating over and over again. They dream about what it would be like to live the stones life, for them its like the forbidden fruit that they cant have.
While the Stones are gone the Millers take care of their house, water the plants and feet the cat, but thats not all they do, they try to start living their life, stealing their things, wearing their clothes, both masturbating in the Stones apartment and going through their personal belongings. They also start lying to each other, they both know whats going on, and it is so embarrassing for them that they hide it for each other.
Through out the story the characters Bill and Arlene change. I the beginning their dialogue is very dry and you really get depressed when you hear about them; it makes you not want to get married, b they dont have anything to talk about. And it makes it worse that they are so jealous e.g. when the Stones are leaving and the Millers are waving good bye, the dialogue goes
“Well, I wish it was us” Bill said