Analysis Of Call If You Need Me By Raymond Caver

Raymond Caver’s “Call If You Need Me” told the story of Dan and his wife Nancy trying to revive their relationship after they have both been involved with other people. The prominent imagery from Dan’s narration allowed the reader to understand the complex emotional state of the couple. This point of view allowed the reader to see how Dan judged Nancy actions’, as well as his own, before the initial timeframe of the story as well as throughout the story. Access to Dan’s thoughts informed the reader of mental betrayals throughout the time spent with his wife trying to rescue their marriage. Caver detailed Dan’s experiences with nature to define the underlying emotional progression between Dan and Nancy as they tried, but ultimately failed to …show more content…
These precious little moments they had together it had a nostalgic feel to them. A sense that as Dan and Nancy took in the simple beauty of these moments they remembered something else that was beautiful. What Dan remembered was the happier points in their marriage. The mockingbird that Dan saw outside the café window and pointed out to Nancy showed what he tried to regain through their summer trip (186). Just a simple life together that’s elegance resided in the mundane nature of existing. One element present in both instances with the animals was Dan saw them first and through a window. Also the fact that he saw them both through a window signified a degree of separation similar to recalling a memory. This memory like quality was also present during the experience with the horses and escalated to interacting with them. Similar to the Mockingbird, Dan spotted them through the window in the house in Eureka; but this time went a step further by going outside to interact with the animals. At this point Nancy felt that she had lost everyone around her and gave up reconnecting with Dan to rebuild their marriage (). After seeing and interacting with the horses they stayed awake all night talking, listening to the radio, and even reconnected on the sexual level (187-188). This nature interaction …show more content…
For Dan the previous night was probably one of the last times that he would spend with Nancy as his wife. He dealt with this harsh reality by calling Susan. Susan’s relationship progressed from being Dan’s distraction to the responsibilities to his wife to a distraction from regret of the end of his marriage. Caver’s point that a majority of the time beautiful experiences only last for a few moments and to enjoy it as much as possible before the moment ends. Additionally, the need to except what has ended in a constructive way to build future moments. People cannot call on an identical happy moment, when they try the typically results in a temporary