Why Don T You Dance By Raymond Carver Analysis

Raymond Carver is well known for his poems and short stories. Perhaps one of his most well-known short stories is, “Why Don’t You Dance?”. The story is about an alcoholic man who is selling his belongings on the front lawn of his home. The unnamed man ends up meeting a young couple that wants to buy some of his things and after some drinking the story ends with many unanswered questions. With very few characters and many opportunities for the reader to interpret why the unnamed man is in his current predicament, there are many questions about why the man is experiencing sorrow. Rush’s adaptation of Carver’s short story answers many of the unidentified reasons the man was suffering and leaves little to the imagination of why things were so bad …show more content…
Rush takes the mystery out of why the main character is out on the lawn. Carver left the reason as to why the man and his things are out on the lawn open to individual interpretation. Rush told the viewers exactly why Nick was locked out and was so miserable. The deep dive into the plot shows Nick’s fixation on his material things. It also lets Nick see that he needs to cut ties with all of the attachments he has to truly move forward. By answering the many open questions from Carver’s short story, Rush leads the viewer in a specific direction. Nick has certainly caused the problems he is facing in his life, and his excessive drinking is a large part of the main issue Nick has. There are a few diversions in the plot that Rush has inserted to make use of the expanded timeframe and to add moments of humor into a sometimes emotionally taxing film. The secret sex life of Nick’s one-upper neighbor serves as a chance to let Nick feel like he isn’t any better or worse than anyone else, but he is the one being scrutinized and judged. The addition of the high school sweetheart added another dimension to Nick’s character, one that gave him the strength in the end to actually let go of his attachments and end some of his suffering. In all, the plot choices made by Rush more than addressed the theme of the story, they steered it to its …show more content…
This works in Rush’s favor as he weaves a tale of a man that loses his job, his wife, his house and his dignity all on the same day. As Nick struggles to keep his yearning for the bottle at bay, he has a few life-changing encounters with people that have a meaningful impact on his life. Although there was no proper dance scene in Rush’s adaptation of “Why Don’t You Dance?”, he keeps the main theme of the original work in perspective. Through a strong cast playing well developed characters and a dramatic plot with emotionally challenging tone, Rush succeeds in portraying Carver’s theme. He even takes it a step further by filling in some of the holes in the original, and doing so in a way that leaves the viewer entertained and emotionally vested in the character’s journey to becoming a better