Perspectives

For this part of the study guide, we will focus on giving you some points aimed at helping you to put the short story “Why Don't You Dance?” by Raymond Carver into perspective.

Literary period

Raymond Craver is a leading author in the literary movement called Dirty Realism. As the name suggests, the works are realistic, but they focus more on the less fictionalized aspects of life and human character such as envy, jealousy, domestic violence, dysfunctional relationships, etc.

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Works with the same theme

The theme of relationships is often explored in literary texts. You might find it useful to look at short stories following this theme which belong to other literary periods.

For instance, “The End of Something” (1925) by Ernest Hemingway is a modernist short story focusing on the breakup of a young couple, as a result of the boy’s need for independence and...

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Moreover, here we discuss the works by the same author and screen adaptations of “Why Don't You Dance?” by Raymond Carver.