I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Collectors" af Raymond Carver. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: “Collectors” (1975)
Forfatter: Raymond Carver
Genre: Short story
Raymond Carver (1938-1988) var en amerikansk forfatter, som især var kendt for sine digte og noveller. Han skrev ofte i en realistisk og minimalistisk stil og lagde fokus på almindelige mennesker og deres hverdagsproblemer.
“Collectors” blev første gang udgivet i tidsskriftet Esquire og kom senere med i Carvers første novellesamling Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976).
Uddrag
Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:
Title
Upon reading the title, readers might expect the story “Collectors” by Raymond Carver to revolve around people who collect something. At the beginning, the narrator thinks: “You can’t be too careful if you’re out of work and you get notices in the mail or else pushed under your door. They come around wanting to talk, too, especially if you don’t have a telephone.” (p. 78, ll. 7-10). The narrator’s thoughts imply that, since he is out of work, he has unpaid bills or debts. He suspects that the person knocking at the door might be there to ask for money, suggesting that the story will deal with debt collector.
If Aubrey Bell is a debt collector, then the title could suggest a debt collector’s extreme tactics used to find people in debt. The narrator does not reveal his identity, and Bell goes through the entire process of cleaning the house, possibly as a way of maintaining his disguise and examining the house to find other valuables to “collect”. From another perspective, the title can be considered ironic. Bell does not collect any debt, but possibly “collects” something more valuable - the narrator’s chance at a new job and a new life. By taking the letter that might be news about a new job, Bell could cause the narrator to remain unemployed and unable to pay his debts.
