Comparing Alcoholism In Raymond Carver's Short Stories And Edward Hoppers

In many of Raymond Carver’s short stories and Edward Hoppers paintings a multitude of connections can be made with between the two. Alcohol typically plays a key role in Raymond Carver’s short stories. This tends to lead to isolation of characters due to some degree of alcoholism. Within a majority of Edward Hopper’s paintings there is the presence of solitude, which gives a depressive mood to his paintings. Similar to Carver’s short stories, there are characters who are isolated by the consumption of alcohol. In “Chef’s House” written by Carver, isolation is seen between Wes and Edna’s relationship and in their relationships with their children; directly seen in The Lee Shore painting by Edward Hopper, the sailboats represent Wes, Edna, and …show more content…
On the far right of The Lee Shore there is a house which is sitting either upon the ocean or relatively close to it with the front of the house facing to the ocean. Within “Chef’s House” Carver describes the setting through Edna saying, “You can see the ocean from the front window. You can smell salt in the air” (Carver). This description given by Edna illustrates the house being placed close to the shore which the painting displays. Also, the house in The Lee Shore gives a sense of emptiness as no figures are seen around or in the house. The emptiness of the house is related to Wes when he is told he must leave the house. This news from Chef saddens and angers …show more content…
These sailboats can be related to the characters in “Chef’s House” along with Wes being represented as the house in the painting. Edna is connected to the sailboat closest to the house as it shows the relationship of Enda and Wes. Edna has drifted away from Wes due to his once alcoholic tendencies though she had come back to Wes to see him. The sailboat is a visual representation of how people can move about within their relationships with one another. The other two sailboats represent their children Cheryl and Bobby who “kept their distance” (Carver) from both Edna and Wes. The sailboat to the right in the painting is Bobby and the sailboat in the distance represents their daughter. Bobby is the sailboat closer to the house because he still maintains a small relationship with Edna. Their relationship is displayed by the distance of the two sailboats. In “Chef’s House” Edna “wrote letters and signed them, “Love always”” (Carver) illustrating that they both kept in touch and were not isolating themselves from one another. Though Cheryl had completely isolated herself from the family as “she didn’t care one way or another about what her dad and I did so long as we didn’t get her into it” (Caver). Due to Cheryl severing her relationship with her family, Cheryl’s