Problems Of Society, Not Just The Underclass
Raymond Carver was an alcoholic, an ex-husband, a father, a recovering
alcoholic, a husband, and now just a memory in the minds and hearts of many.
Many say that you can see Carver's life throughout his writings about the way
that people's lives are affected by the abuse of alcohol, the disruption of a
relationship, the struggle to make ends meet financially, the loss of a loved
one, and the many other themes that he writes about. Carver tends to not only
use alcohol, but also those that fall into the underclass of society to tell his
stories. While many other authors use people that can be found in any small town
to tell their story so that we can relate to them better, others will also use
people of the proposed "upper-class" to tell their stories. This shows
us that although the underclass may have more of a visible struggle, everyone
can come across hardships throughout their life. The struggle of the underclass
can be seen in both the works of Carver and also in Shirley Jackson's "The
Lottery," while the struggles of the upper-class can be seen in William
Shakespeare's Othello.
Carver chose to write short stories not out of his desire for them, he would
have liked to have written novels or other longer works, but he chose them out
of problems that were possibly caused by his abuse of alcohol. He admits to
having a short attention span and lack of concentration that at times even led
to his writing of poetry (Winter). He liked writings that the reader could get
into and out of quickly, that they would be able to read in one sitting. He used
this almost as an excuse for not writing something that would take him months or
years to complete because his life could not handle that. This is just a start
on how the alcohol and disruption between him and his first wife were affecting
his life and his work. Carver finally understood the effects that alcohol was
having on his life when he realized "'For a long time I felt myself living
by the seat of my pants, making things terribly difficult for myself and
everyone around me, by my drinking'" (Winter).
The steps that Carver had taken throughout his life can be seen in almost all
of his writings found in Where I'm Calling From. You can see Carver's
possible childhood in "Nobody Said Anything," where a boy is ignored
because his parents are too busy arguing to care about what he has done or
accomplished (3-20). Carver and his first wife separating in One More Thing, as
the alcohol and verbal abuse final reaches a climax and she says enough, get out
(147-151). Carver's turn around and reflection on life in Where I'm Calling
From, when he takes another trip to rehab to try and figure out what is
going on with his life (278-296). Some of the possible actions that may have
helped his first marriage decline in Menudo, when the character starts to look
everywhere but home for the love that he feels is missing (454-471). How his
first wife feels about what he chooses to write about in Intimacy, why doesn't
he focus on the positive times of their life together, why does he always focus
on the negative, "She says she wishes I'd forget about the hard times, the
bad times, when I talk about back then. Spend some more time on the good times,
she says. Weren't there some good times? She wishes I'd get off that other
subject," state Carver's "characters" (444-453). In all of these
stories, plus many others, not only can you picture Carver's life, but you can
see just about anyone, from any town falling into this same trap of alcohol and
failed relationships.
Why is it that Carver chose alcohol and the underclass as the theme for his
writings? It is possible that it is his way of venting, of letting out all of
the negative that is inside his life so that he can move forward and start a new
chapter that will hopefully have a better conclusion. It also may be because
that is the way his life was, and we tend to write about what we know. For
whatever reason, Carver's writings let us not only look into his life, but they
let us learn from it. They open our eyes to the way that society is out in the
"real world," where it isn't just Carver or one person that is
suffering from these problems, but many people throughout the country. Look at
the high numbers of our population that suffer from some sort of substance abuse
or addiction, whether it be drugs or alcohol, and look at the high number of
failed relationships, both before and after marriage. Carver is not just writing
to tell us his "story," he is writing to tell us about the way things
are.
Many writers use the "common" people or "underclass" to
tell their stories because they feel that their readers may be able to relate to
them better. Shirley Jackson uses a small town of "common" people to
tell her story of a ritualistic stoning in the "The Lottery." The
people in her story go through an annual drawing, or lottery, to choose who
amongst them will be stoned. This is a ritualistic sacrifice that they endure
year after year for the fear that if they stop their good fortune and healthy
crops would also cease. Jackson uses common people in her story to make us
understand that this could be anyone, anywhere. All of us have our beliefs
whether they are based on reality, faith, or anything else that we follow either
by our choice or by the pressure of those around us. By using characters that
her audience can relate to, Shirley Jackson can tell numerous stories with this
one, all we have to do is replace the "stoning" with anything else
that we do in life that we know is not right just because everyone else around
us is. Look at riots, gangs, war, how are any of those really different than
standing there stoning your neighbor to death. We all know that they are wrong,
but who wants to be persecuted for being different.
While most people feel that the underclass are the only ones that face
problems throughout their lives, William Shakespeare does a wonderful job of
portraying the fact that the upper-class, although they may seem untouchable,
also endure struggle and strife in their everyday life. While many of the
underclass dream of the "benefits" of being rich and having power,
they do not realize that the upper-class have their hardships as well. In Othello,
Shakespeare tells us a tale of revenge, betrayal, distrust, disloyalty, and
murder to show us just a part of what it is like to have power and only want
more of it. Although Othello, Desdemona, Iago, and Roderigo live in what is
considered luxury for their time they are not content. Iago is not content with
his status in society and uses Roderigo and everyone else around him to try and
"better" his own life, no matter what the cost is to those around him
(Shakespeare). Othello is not content with the fact that Desdemona loves him and
only him and cannot let go of that jealous wonder that is in the back of his
mind (Shakespeare). And Roderigo cannot accept the fact that Desdemona loves
Othello, he is willing to do anything to win her away from Othello
(Shakespeare). While these people may be of the ever sought after upper-class,
they suffer from many of the same problems that everyone else in the world does.
Shakespeare's tale that he tells in Othello just helps to reaffirm the fact that
money cannot "buy" happiness, in fact most times it leads to extra
turmoil.
Writers have many underlying reasons when they choose a theme for either one
piece or for an entire collection of works. For all of them, the primary purpose
is to tell us a story, relay to us a message, or point out the triumphs or
tragedies that can be found within life. No matter how they do it, if it wasn't
for writers being brave enough to put their words on paper we may not have the
transference of culture and values that we do today. We may not have their
previous actions to learn from, or gaining the insight that "I am not alone
with this problem" that we may often feel as we struggle through life.
Without writers like Carver, there may be someone out there that feels
completely alone in what they are going through or how they feel until they get
the chance to read something by him that helps them see that they truly are not
the only one that suffers in this world.
Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. Where I'm Calling From. New York, NY: Random House Inc.,
1989.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Bridges: Literature Across
Cultures. Gilbert H. Muller, John A. Williams. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994. p
849-854.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy Of Othello, The Moor Of Venice."
Bridges: Literature Across Cultures. Gilbert H. Muller, John A. Williams.
McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994. p 352-458.
Winter, Shaun. Alcohol and the Underclass in the Writings of Raymond
Carver. Brighton High School English Department (1997). http://www.bcsd.org/bhs/english/mag97/papers/carver.htm
(Retrieved 27 May 2001).
Postscript
· I think that I tried to make this research paper a lot harder than it
actually was. I kept on dreading the part where I actually sit down and write
it, but once I got started everything seemed to flow together pretty well.
· I think the hardest part of this paper was trying to figure out where to put
in the quotes of supporting facts or ideas that I found. When I did the first
draft I didn't have any and thought that it sounded good, but I knew that I
needed to put some in there somewhere or it would just be another seminar paper.
· Stressing about finishing my paper while also having to plan what I am going
to do for my part of the presentation Monday. Do we get some extra credit for
having to go first? Just a thought J.
|