They're Not Your Husband
            
             Section B
             They're not your husband is an American short story written by Raymond Carver. The short story is written in the third person and the narrator is Earl Ober who is married to Doreen. It is a chronological story with no flash backs. Earl and Doreen Ober are both in their thirties and they have two or three children. At the moment Earl is unemployed and every three or four days he has an interview with different companies. I assume that Earl has an inclination for drinking; in the text it says twice that Earl either drinks at home or has gone to a bar. I think it bothers him that he is unemployed and the fact that he has nothing to be absorbed in, makes him feel useless and insignificant. This is partly the reason why he starts drinking and suddenly visits Doreen at her job. The family's financial situation isn't very good. Doreen works nights as a waitress at a twenty-four-hour coffee shop and I hardly think that her pay is enough to support the whole family. This pressure also gives Earl a bad conscience and on top of this, his relationship to his children is very superficial and they seldom greet each other, as it says at the bottom of page 23. During one of Earl's visits, two men criticize and make fun of Doreen and her run-down body. I think this is the last straw that breaks the camel's back for Earl. He is unemployed, his wife earns the money, his children don't care about him and suddenly he realizes that other people find his wife charm less.
             Doreen is a hard working woman. She comes home in the mornings and sends the children of to school. Doreen is a very helpful person who obeys the authorities; whether it's her husband or her employer. When Earl suddenly suggests that she ought to lose some weight she is overwhelmed and unable to take his suggestion seriously. I think Doreen accepts his wish because she feels sorry for him, and she hopes that she...