Dec 13, Buse Bastanci rated it it was amazing. Is the ending of a story, a new story, like death and birth? The reader can see the old man is repsented as a finished life and the young couple as a new life, so someone who reads the story can easily see this contrast. Moreover, the writer gives the reader an opportunity to continue the story by not completing it. The thing that Carver did, is really hard in literature because writing a story that short but incredible meaningful about human psychology and makes people think is very rare.
What if we look at he title? Why it is about dance? We can see the girl passes the story while she is telling the story at the end and looks like she isnot even interested. This gives the feeling to us that she has something to hide and shame, and this title gives a clue to the rader where to focus on. This open yard sale might be a psychological abandon from his previous life and ex-wife. I recommend this story with all my heart. Because in this story ,it is not just about reading the story, it is also about asking questions and imagining the rest.
Dec 13, Almira Beste rated it it was amazing. The story is about conversations between a middle-aged man, a young girl and boy who buy some and spend time with him. After giving them a bargain, the man offers alcohol and puts on a record. After a while, the girl dances with both the boy and the man. The ending of the story is not clear, which makes it ambiguous story.
Weeks later, the girl tells everyone what happens without details and this makes the story interesting and interpretable. The magnificent use of subliminal massages such as word choices plugging, bounced, tucked, patted and the depiction of the dance bodies pressed together, the boy and the girl moved up and down when viewed together suggest a sexual underline to the story.
On the other hand, the story is full of ellipsis and this invites the readers to use their imagination. I have two different opinion about the ending. The first one is, the girl and the middle-aged man had sexual relation and the girl is in denial since she is scared of being judged by her surroundings. The thing that I get from the story is, with a lack of affection people tend to project their desires on to others in order to satisfy their longings.
Although this story will be treat for literature scholars, anyone could enjoy it because the language is simple and it only takes 15 minutes to read. Jan 01, Skye Heaton-heather rated it really liked it. A brilliant short short-story with one uncanny setting, three characters and a host of unanswered questions.
A man recreates the interior of his house on his front lawn for the world to see. A young couple presume the furniture is for sale. Negotiation leads to an unfolding evening soiree with whiskey and ever increasing sense of the strange.
A tersely written snapshot open to multiple interpretations. Dec 16, Damla rated it really liked it. The beginning part is about an old man who moves his furnitures from his home to the frontyard while he is drinking whiskey.
It is possible that he may loss her wife depending on his alcohol addiction. A young couple looks over to furnitures he sells, even they try it out including the bed. The old man seems so caring to the couple, he offers them a drink while they are getting closer. The old man might wants to sell his furnishings at any price just for a good purpose or he might be inerested with the relationship between the couple because he is no longer in a relationship.
There is a lot of dilemma in the story, the author wants to leave the decision to the reader, thus, each reader could interpret the story by themselves. Carver does not telling us. He wants the reader to reach a conclusion by themselves.
From a third person perspective, the story contains theme of uncertainty, both seperation and connection at the same time. At the end of the story, an ellipsis occurs with the weird intimacy between the old man and the young lady.
We do not know the truth at the end, as at the beginning. In real life, we use alcohol as a connector between people, as Carver did in his ficitonal tales. This is the first time I read Carver and I will read his other stories, especially this collection. I would recommend to all who loves weird cases both in real life and literature. Dec 12, Ege Uslu rated it it was amazing.
Want to read something realist but don't like many details? This short story is just for you. The story is set on a roughly similar time as the story itself 70's and on outside. An old man had arranged a yard sale in a very distinctive way: everything stood as if there were walls around them and machinery even worked thanks to extension cords.
There is no information is given why this yard sale is going on though, or Want to read something realist but don't like many details? The scene that spoke to me the most was the one in which the girl is lying on the bed and asks for a kiss. Thanks for the comment Tom. Great insight. What may have happened when they were drunk? It is the first time I ever read Raymond Carver and I love it, so solid, full of emotions writing.
Thank you Dermot for all your help! Like quite a few of his stories I found the ending of this to be a mix of frustrating, enigmatic and ambiguous. Or was that just an act? So how do you think she perceived the man actually? Thanks for the comment Gunjan.
I think in some way that the girl is attracted to the man and for that reason she is questioning what happened. The intimacy of dancing with the man may have affected her in some way. Though it is also true that she only met him briefly and may find his actions strange and for that reason she is trying to figure the man out.
She may also be lessening the impact of her encounter with the man in order for her to be able to move on. Stopping herself from looking any further into what happened and carrying on with her life. That makes sense, I kind of agree with you. There seemed to be a bit of condescension in how she was speaking about the man but that may have been an act, I suspected.
Have you seen the movie based on this story-Everything must go? And Short Cuts? I think that there is a reason why she is referred to a girl and Jack a boy. But no one stopped. I think picking the young couple was crucial to the story. Maybe if she had been older? Experienced loss?
I think the more you have experienced the more connected you may be to strangers. There are also a lot of signs of inexperience with life in the couple which I think was intentional.
I feel that the story is about a connection that happens through two different perspectives that end up merging under the realization the girl makes at the end. The man is looking at his belongings in the same set up as they were in his room and connects that setting to a former relationship.
When the boy and the girl find the setting, they begin sitting on the furniture and seem to start to see if they can see themselves in this setting with these things in their house. This is apparent when she asks the boy to kiss her and when he sits to watch the TV, it is like their lives are playing to their surroundings.
When the man comes back he is willing to give them anything in order to rid himself of the setting because it brings him pain. The old guy gave it to us. And all these crappy records.
Will you look at this shit? There was more to it, and she was trying to get it talked out. After a time, she quit trying. Or nothing? The answer is up to us to determine or not to determine. I think so. Would I recommend it to any other writer as a technique to emulate? Maybe as an exercise in futility, but not for a normal course of action. Why does it work? Because Carver is a master card player and writer.
Is that realistic? Is it true to life? Do writers often even try to write like this? Not recommended. Did Carver pull it off? For me he did. There is no right or wrong, perhaps — as long as our answer fits the story.
And maybe that IS the story. Welcome to nello. Carver, Raymond. Thanks for your comments. Not sure if this changes anything, but she actually replies to the boy by saying that he is NOT drunk.
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