Bicycles Muscles Cigarettes

Raymond Carver's short story, Bicycles, Muscles Cigarettes, examines the inner conflict within the main character, Evan Hamilton and the connection that he establishes with his young son Roger as a result of it. Narrated in the third person by someone unknown, the story uses Evan's addiction to cigarettes and the difficulty he experiences trying to quit, in order to set the mood and accentuate this conflict. Carver explores this theme and touches on the process of determining identity, as well as the connections made between members of his family and others in the area. Through conflict, both internal and external, Evan is forced to deal with his feelings and the lack of connection between himself and his son. He ultimately finds a …show more content…
“Hamilton sniffed the hand and then the fingers. Now I don't smell anything ….. Maybe it was scared out of me, he thought” The internal conflict gripping him has now subsided and there is a guarded optimism that he can make a fresh start with his son
Moreover, there are signs in the story that point to the fact that Evan doesn't really know his son. Carver states that “he was struck by the range of his son's personal life” Hamilton's unfamiliarity with streets just two blocks from his house and the fact that he does not recognize some of Rogers' friends point to a disconnect and lack of involvement in his son's life.
Carver's use of hidden narratives aid in structuring the story in ways that keep the reader guessing as to the the real identity of the various characters and at times reverses the roles of adults and children. One of the boys is described “with (his) legs dangling” ..... reaching “over the sink with a cigarette.” Also, the fight between Hamilton and Berman provides a further example of external conflict as well as blurring the identities of the adults as they resort to childish behavior to solve there