'Little Words In Raymond Carver's Little Things'

In Raymond Carver’s “Little Things” he shows us the struggles we deal with in life. The symbol of the baby, which can be taken literally or figuratively depending on the reader. His use of simple vocabulary makes it easy to read and understand. The details make it easy for the reader to relate to the characters in the story. Some people will read “Little Things” and pick out every detail and analyze it trying to find the true meaning behind his words. However, I believe he wrote this story in such a way that people who read should have different interpretations.
The way this book was written is very simple, easy to understand, and read. Carver does not try to bombard the reader with ‘big fancy words’ rather he chooses to go with an easy to …show more content…
When Carver writes, “He was in the bedroom pushing clothes into a suitcase…” it shows the husband only has one suitcase and therefore is most likely of simple means. This also shows a suddenness of this decision by either the husband or the wife for him to leave. Leaving him to cram his belongings into a bag so he could take them with him. When the husband leaves Carver writes that the wife is standing “…in the doorway of the little kitchen…” By using the word “little” to describe the kitchen suggests to the reader the family could be possibly be poor. It doesn’t necessarily mean the couple has to be poor, but it is possible if they were more well off it would most likely have said large kitchen or not made any reference to the size at all. Again, these details are being used to inform the reader. The fact they have a kitchen and a living room and all this stuff shows how the family most likely isn’t broke either. Therefore, it may be an assumption by the reader that they are somewhere in between. Using these details allows the reader the ability to put most people they know, and even themselves, in these character’s …show more content…
The baby could represent an issue the couple is fighting over and Carver uses the baby as a physical embodiment of that issue. We can see this when Carver writes, “Then she noticed the baby’s picture on the bed and picked it up.” However, he also writes later “She stood in the doorway of the little kitchen, holding the baby.” Now this line in the story shows the reader it’s a real baby she has instead of the picture. This transition shows the baby could very well be anything, whether physical or symbolic. The baby may be an issue that the couple has yet to deal with until now and are fighting about it as a result. This then causes a separation in their relationship. Their separation is then shown by when the couple is pulling on the baby and won’t let