Neighbors By Raymond Carver Analysis

A Day in Someone Else’s Shoes Very quickly after beginning “Neighbors” by Raymond Carver, the main characters of the story, the Millers, seem boring. This trait is one that the Miller’s both feel as well and drives the majority of their actions throughout the story. When Bill and Arlene Miller agree to watch their neighbor’s apartment, they get a glimpse into someone else’s lives and get an idea of their own life. The Miller’s neighbors, the Stones, shine a light on the Miller’s life that they did not want to see. Throughout “Neighbors,” Carver uses The Stone’s life and apartment to help the Millers escape their uneventful life and learn more about themselves while changing. Before the Millers house-sit for the Stones, they both live …show more content…
Within his first visit to the apartment, Bill begins to snoop around the room and steal objects. The items that he takes are of no real use to him, such as Harriet Stone’s pills and Jim Stone’s liquor on page 8 and 9. Bill takes these items because he wants to be more like them. This idea is reinforced later on when Bill “then looked through the closet for an outfit” (12) and tried on both Jim and Harriet clothes. No other part of the story implies that Bill is a cross-dresser or a transgender person, but instead a person who is so unpleased with his life that he is trying to be someone else. These acts can be considered unimportant, but they begin to have an effect on Bill almost immediately. After returning from the Stones’ apartment, Bill goes over to Harriet and “touched her breasts” (9) saying "Let’s go to bed, honey," (9) to have sex, something that they probably have not done in a long time. While it is not known if the Stones have a lot of sex, Bill believes that because they live more exciting lives that they probably do, so by being in their apartment, he decides to imitate