Analysis

The analysis of the short story “Fat” by Raymond Carver reveals that the plot follows a linear, chronological structure. The main conflict of the story is between the narrator and her partner Rudy: the narrator herself becomes gradually aware of the conflict, and it is not fully revealed until the end of the story.

The main character is the unnamed narrator, a waitress who is serving an overweight customer, referred throughout the story as “the fat man”. The other characters are her co-workers: Herb, Margo, Leander, and Harriet who appear briefly, only to comment on the overweight man in derogatory terms. The other characters are the narrator’s friend Rita and Rudy.

The physical setting is a restaurant and then the narrator’s house, on a Wednesday in August. The social setting explores the social stigma associated with being overweight, as well as depression and the disillusion of the working class.

The story is told from the first-person point of view of the narrator, who is subjective but not unreliable. The narration is explicit when describing the events as they unfold, but implicit about the narrator’s thoughts and feelings.

The language is casual and informal, fitting the realist style of the story. As the story is told by the narrator to her friend Rita, the language is meant to resemble spoken speech.

You can find the full analysis of “Fat” by Raymond Carver in the next pages.

Further help

For more advice about analyzing short stories, you can read our general guide to short story analysis.