Trapped In Spiritual Wasteland-analysis Of The "losers" In Raymond Carver’s Short Stories

Raymond Carver, as a central figure in the renaissance of the American short story inthe1980s, unfolds a sketch of various underprivileged ordinary Americans, who fail atdifferent levels, economic, social or spiritual. This thesis scrutinizes the various losers inCarver s short stories from classification, roots of failure and aesthetic portrayal.The first chapter focuses on four types of losers in Carver s stories: the poor strugglingfor existence, the alcoholic and couch potatoes escaping harsh reality, the loner unable tocommunicate and care, and the degenerate without morality and sympathy. The variouslosers all see their life breaking down in front of their eyes but are unable to changeanything. They do the best they can, that is, hope something would miraculously happenand their life would be changed for the better.The second chapter analyses the roots of the losers failure, which can be traced to theeconomic and social situation of the mid1960s-1980s America. In addition, the AmericanDream that everyone can succeed through hard work turns out illusive for those with noluck. Stranded in the sticky situation, they turn to alcohol, TV, sex and drugs forconsolation because their faith and morality have already faded into oblivion. Their innerworld becomes a spiritual wasteland.The third chapter discusses Carver s aesthetic presentation of the losers. His simplestyle mirrors the inadequate material, lack of communication and the emptiness andloneliness of the losers as well as Carver s own life experience as a member of the losersfrom the lower-class. The plain language, the elaborate dialogue, the deliberate omission,and the open endings all correspond to ordinary people, commonplace objects andrecognizable scenes. In this way, Carver manages to achieve the unity of subject and form,thus maximizing the aesthetic effect.Through his short stories Carver voices out his criticism of the American society thateulogizes materialism and casts doubt upon the American Dream that seems to promiseevery citizen equal opportunity to success. For those marginalized people who have failedin their pursuit of the American Dream but persisted in struggling for existence he extendsdeepest sympathy. Moreover, he voices his serious concern for the spiritual malaise that ishaunting modern people not only in America but also throughout the rest of the world, who, surrounded by multitudes of new technologies, are undergoing unprecedented lonelinessand emptiness and thus tend to be spiritually inertia and subject to loose moral principles.Combining his life experience with remarkable craftsmanship, Carver manages to shapevarious losers evocative of real life and is thus securely established in the canon ofAmerican short fiction.