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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
“A Small, Good Thing” bears the markers of Carver’s minimalist writing style. The story’s prose is clean and straightforward, with very little imagery and simple, clear diction:
Howard hung up the telephone. He went into the kitchen and poured himself some whiskey. He called the hospital. But the child’s condition remained the same; he was still sleeping and nothing had changed there.
Here, the concise, action-oriented sentences convey Howard’s anxiety without the need for interiority, figurative language, or sensory detail. Even when the story does turn toward imagery, it’s often a brief, no-frills description of a character’s apparel or physical appearance: “The doctor was a handsome, big-shouldered man with a tanned face.” In this way, the style privileges what’s happening on the surface; people’s actions, appearances, and words receive far more space on the page than their thoughts and feelings.
“A Small, Good Thing” also relies heavily on dialogue to illustrate the dynamics between characters, especially the various ways in which they struggle and fail to adequately communicate with one another. For example, Dr. Francis’s dialogue with Howard and Ann is characterized by constant revisions and repetitions: “‘It’s not a coma, not exactly,’ the doctor said. ‘I wouldn’t want to call it coma. Not yet, anyway.’” In this way, dialogue allows Carver to subtly illustrate how Dr. Francis’s desire to provide comfort conflicts with his fear and uncertainty.
Related Themes:
