Characters

Character overview

The main character in the short story “Fat” by Raymond Carver is the unnamed narrator. The other characters in the story are the overweight man who is the narrator’s customer and the narrator’s co-workers: Herb, Margo, Leander, Joanne, Harriet, and Rudy (who is also the narrator’s partner). The narrator’s friend, Rita, to whom the story is being told, also appears briefly.

The main focus of the story is the interaction between the narrator and the overweight man, which leads her to a revelation about her relationship with Rudy. The narrator’s relationship with Rudy is revealed to be toxic. The narrator’s relationship with her co-workers is also touched upon, but only to highlight their biased attitude towards the overweight man.

The narrator

The narrator’s outer characterization is not explicitly provided, but we can conclude a few things from the text. She is a waitress in a restaurant, as hinted from the first lines of the story: “It is late of a slow Wednesday when Herb seats the fat man at my sta...