Structure

The structure of the short story “Chef’s House” by Raymond Carver is simple and includes narrative techniques like a first-person narrator, fragmentation, the use of relatable characters, foreshadowing, and backsto…

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Beginning

The short story is told using the past tense. It begins with a presentation of the events that led to Edna moving in a rented house with her estranged husband and recovering alcoholic, Wes: “That summer Wes rented a furnished house north of Eureka from a recovered alcoholic named Chef. Then he called to ask me to forget what I had going on and to move up there and live with him.” (ll. 1-3) 

As the exposition continues, we learn about We…

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Middle

The middle of the short story develops the rising action as the couple receives a sudden visit from their landlord and friend, Chef. Here, the narrator mixes a description of the scenery with dialogue and her impressions about what is occurring.

As Edna sees Chef get out of his car, she observes the clouds which “hung over the water” (l. 59). She tells us she “knew there was something” (l. 60).  This is a foreshadowing element as their life is a…

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Ending

The falling action begins with another backstory, one of Edna’s memories from the beginning of their marriage: “I remembered how he was when he was nineteen, the way he looked running across the field to where his dad sat on a tractor” (ll. 141-143).

Even though Wes seems to have reached his…

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