In “Why Don’t You Dance?”, Raymond Carver tells a story about a man who puts most of his belongings for sale. As he takes the furniture out of the house, cars pass by until one of them stops. A boy and a girl exit the vehicle and start examining the furniture outside, paying attention to a bed and TV. The man arrives after a while, offers a drink and suggests dancing. The girl danced with the boy and then with the man. Afterwards, young people bought some of the man’s belongings and left (Carver 5). Weeks later, the girl told that story to other people. The way that novelette is narrated is so unique that its plot can hardly be compared to the one of any other story. However, it may remind me of several songs which have similar story-telling concept and structure.
The story is told by a third person narrator, as if someone who saw what happened was describing the action. The storyteller seems to not know the character’s backstory and gives no personal attitude, leaving that to the reader. The narrator could also be characterized as a person who heard the story from the girl though knows the inner feelings of all the characters. Such positioning of the narrator makes it easier to view the plot as something the reader witnessed. The story is framed in a simple and minimalistic way, yet it remains touching and relatable.
There are three main characters in the story: the man, the boy, and the girl. The man seems to be broken and depressed, as he constantly drinks alcohol throughout the story and does not pay attention to what is happening. The boy appears to be shy and uncomfortable as well as respectful, as he is not willing to examine furniture until the owner arrives (Carver 7). In addition, the boy shows hesitancy when he says he is going to see if anybody is home. The girl seems frivolous, full of life, and casual, as she starts to act so as soon as they arrive and does not seem to care about what people think.
As already mentioned, the setting of the story is simple and straightforward. All of the descriptions are concise, and the attention is paid to the actions and events which take place. The narrative mostly consists of short dialogs, which create the overall atmosphere and depict the characters at the same time. Additionally, the narration is short and devoid of any background, which is not typical for common fiction. The author may have chosen such technique to bring the narrative as close to real life as possible so that the readers could personally analyze the action.
There are multiple repetitive dialogue between the boy and the girl. These dialogs may be symbolizing the misunderstanding and understatement between them. In addition, a similar method is used to show man’s apathy towards money, as he responds twice in a same manner when the girl starts to bargain (Carver 6). Another two repetitive symbols are alcohol and music, which represent carelessness for the young man painful memories and sorrow for the adult character. Repetitive actions and images in that case may be symbolizing the cycle of life.
Considering controversial points of view on the matter of love and relationship, Carver’s story depicts the subject with no subjective judgment. The author tells the reader everything by saying practically nothing. No norms or standards shall be established in that case, as love and relationships may be subjective. The characters of the story are not able to understand their own actions fully. Showing an image with no direct message, the author inspires people to think about the subject themselves and question their own morals.
Work Cited
Carver, Raymond. “Why Don’t You Dance?” Vintage Books, 1982, pp. 4-10.