Structure

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Beginning

The short story "Collectors" by Raymond Carver begins with the narrator telling the reader about his situation and introducing the setting: “I was out of work. But any day I expected to hear from up north. I lay on the sofa and listened to the rain. (…) There was no one on the street, nothing.” (p. 78, ll. 1-4). This also suggests that the narrator might be waiting for news about a job.

In the exposition, the narrator hears …

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Middle

In the rising action, the narrator opens the door, and a person called Bell informs him that he is there because Mrs. Slater has won something. Bell asks for the narrator’s name (p. 78, l. 22) – but the narrator does not answer. However, this leaves readers to assume that the narrator is Mr. Slater, but that he hides his identity because he fears that Bell is a debt collector. This suggests that there may be a hidden conflict between the two men.

The tension rises as Bell enters the house, but some time passes before he explains his purpose there. Bell then shows the narrator a vacuum cleaner (p. 80, ll. 4-9), which …

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Ending

In the falling action, further tension is created as the narrator seems to pretend that the letter could not be addressed to Mr. Slater (thus suggesting that Mr. Slater does not live there): “You’re sure that’ s who the letter is for? (…) It just seems strange” (p. 83, ll. 33-40). Bell acts like he is almost offended by the narrator’s remark (p. 83, l. 39). However, he does not show the narrator the letter.

The resolution shows Bell le…