What we Talk About When We...
RAYMOND CARVER'S "WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE"Stories, be they written or on screen, usually employ setting as a backdrop and having no direct relation to the actual storyline progression. This, however, is not the case in Raymond Carver's tale "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." In this short story, a single element - sunlight - reflects(no pun intended) the progression of the story, showing a direct relation between the characters openness in talking about love, their knowledge on the subject, their mood, the point of discussion as well as their confidence in their own abilities. As we will soon see, the element of sunlight will take us into four different levels of progression, helping us to dissect and better understand its role within the story. In the first phase of the story, when "Sunlight filled the kitchen from the big window behind the sink" the mood in the room is one of general happiness; the two couples are joking with each other, smiling and being affectionate as we see when Nick admires Laura's fingers and also kisses her hand. (Carver 170) Their main point of discussion is about Terri's ex-boyfriend, Ed, and how mentally unstable he was. During this conversation, we see that ther
(Carver 175) During this phase, when the sun is shining brightly, everyone seems to be filled with confidence, and it is demonstrated when Terri is insistent that Ed was in fact in love with her, however skewed his perception of love was, while Mel is equally confident to deny that Ed's behaviour was based on love. When the sun shone brightly, everyone was happy and confident, when the sun went down, so too did their happiness and confidence disappear. Laura is beginning to get intrigued by the subject matter and pipes in her opinion every so often while Nick explains to Mel about the less than glamorous side of being a knight. What started out as a little bit of drinking before a dinner date had turned into something completely different altogether; the mood had changed completely, with everyone sitting somberly around the table in silence, contemplating their lives. Their happiness had also disappeared, instead in its place lay the feeling of depression and anxiety. Terri is also equally unequivocal in her understanding, saying "Say what you want to, but I know it was" when talking about Ed's love for her. Their confidence was slowly ebbing away even further. (Carver 182) The mood changes even more, turning more serious than earlier. They had come to the realization that when they started the day, they were so sure of what they knew, but as the day progressed, that level of confidence just disappeared, replaced by doubt and uncertainty. (Carver 176) Unable to come to terms with the realization that he knows nothing about love, Nick instead tries to rationalize everything by saying "Maybe we were a little drunk by then", blaming the alcohol for skewering his 'world. (Carver 170) This also happens to be the one time early in the story that Laura shares her thoughts, stating "Well, Nick and I know what love is" to illustrate her comprehension of the subject of love. e is no sense of openness in the discussion, as it is only Mel and Terri that speak while Laura and Nick are more reserved, content to just listen to the stories rather than partake in the conversation themselves. Whereas earlier in the conversations they were so sure of themselves, even going so far as to toast "To love", now they were even unsure of what that meant. (Carver 177) His mood then changes further, becoming more irritable as time moves on, even going so far as to tell Terri "Will you just shut up for once in your life" when she begins to ask him whether he is drunk.
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