Structure

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Beginning

In the introduction of the short story "Fat" by Raymond Carver, the narrator states that she is telling the story to her friend Rita over coffee and cigarettes.

In the exposition, the overweight man is seated at the narrator’s station, and the narrator remarks immediately that he is “the fattest person I have ever seen, though he is…

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Middle

In the rising action, the narrator approaches the man, asking him what he would like to order. He orders a full meal of three courses7. The narrator takes the order back to the kitchen, and Rudy “takes it with a face” (p. 3, l. 31). This foreshadows the fact that Rudy will later mock the overweight man.

The plot develops further as the narrator notices that the man is rapidly eating whatever she puts in front of him. The man apologizes (p. 4, l. 35), suggesting that he has little choice in the matter. The narrator realizes this herself, as she replies to another co-worker’s remark of “God, he’s fat!” (p. 4, l. 38), with: “He can’t help it (…) so shut up” (p. 4, l. 39). This creates a tension point as it suggests …

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Ending

In the resolution, we learn that the narrator feels depressed (p. 7, l. 10), even though she chooses not to share this with her friend Rita. Then she goes on to say that she can feel that her life is going to change (p. 7, l. 15). This might suggest that she is not going to wait around for her life to change, but will take some action (p. 7, l. 13). The ending could also sug…