Characterization of Dan

The main characters in the short story “Call If You Need Me” by Raymond Carver are Dan and Nancy. Richard, their son, is a secondary character who is only briefly present and who expresses his desire for his parents to reconnect.

Dan is the one from whose point of view we get to know the events, as he is the first-person narrator of the story.

Outer characterization

His outer characterization indicates that he is married to a woman named Nancy, that he has a teenage son, and that he has been the first in the couple to have an adulterous relationship, with a woman named Susan. Although Dan’s job is not directly referred to in the story, the following extract hints at Dan being a teacher, presumably at Stanford University (which has its campus in Palo Alto, where the couple live): "The man she had been seeing was one of my colleagues, a divorced, dapper, three-piece-suit-and-tie fellow with greying hair who drank too much and whose hands, some of my students told me, sometimes shook in the classroom." (ll. 78-81)

Inner characterization

Dan’s inner characterization is given directly by Dan himself, and indirectly through the way he thinks and through his behavior towards others. First, we get to know that both Dan and his wife have been unfaithful and that they know about each other’s affairs. However, despite being aware of the deteriorating state of their marriage, Dan and Nancy want to make their relationship work:

'Are you and mom going to get a divorce?' he'd asked. It was Saturday morning, and there weren't many cars.

'Not if we can help it,' I said. 'We don't want to. That's why we're going away from here and don't expect to see anyone all summer. That's why we've rented our house for the summer and rented the house up in Arcata. (…) We don't want to get a divorce. We want to be alone for the summer and try to work things out. (ll. 20-28)

When he tells the story of how he got to rent the house in Eureka for the summer, Dan seems ashamed of the fact that he made the arrangements while he was away with his mistress and that he lied: “I think I even used the phrase second honeymoon to the realtor, God forgive me, while Susan smoked a cigarette and read tourist brochures out in the car.” (ll. 94-96)

During the couple’s trip to Eureka, both Dan and Nancy act like nothing is wrong, laughing (l. 107) and enjoying their journey. Dan is the one who makes Nancy aware of the presence of a hummingbird, and who believes that the bird is a sign of good luck: “'Now that's a good sign, I think,' I said. 'Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are supposed to bring luck.'” (ll. 122-123)

While at the house in Eureka, Dan seems genuinely concerned to know whether Nancy likes the house or not, which indicates that he still cares about her and values her opinions. What is more, the fact that he hugs her shows that his feelings for her are strong, even if they’re not necessarily romantic:...