In five pages communications in terms of type and style are examined as they are reflected in three of Raymond Carver's short stories. There are no other source cited.
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For instance, most communicating is done non-verbally through the use of gestures, expressions and body language. In a short story, however, communication is, first and foremost, through the art
of writing. Most readers continue to interpret the communication as being verbal or through an exchange of dialogue. The writer is able, through written descriptions, to bring the
reader into other styles of communication. Raymond Carvers A Small Good Thing is concerned with a family in crisis as the only child of a couple is hit
by a car and taken to a hospital. Carvers intent appears to be the exploration of communication styles. The main setting is shared between the hospital and the
home where the couple goes to rest and await news of their son. Every night, after one or the other has come home from the hospital to rest before
returning, there is a strange phone call (its the middle of the night) where a man seems to be demanding money and muttering about something not being picked up.
The young boy had been in the accident on his birthday, his mother had ordered a birthday cake which both parents had forgotten in their worry. The parents
inability to understand the calls in the dead of night are paralleled with the frustration they feel at not getting any information from the doctor concerning their son. It
is the lack of communication that is the focus of the story. The doctor has continuously told them that the son will be fine when he wakes up, however,
they can see the deterioration for themselves and fear the worst. When there is communication between the doctor and the parents, it is deceitful. The staff at the