Neighbors

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Neighbors" af Raymond Carver. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Neighbors” (1971)
Forfatter: Raymond Carver
Genre: Short story

Raymond Carver (1938-1988) var en amerikansk forfatter og digter, som blev særligt kendt for sin minimalistiske skrivestil og sit fokus på hverdagens konflikter og dilemmaer.

"Neighbors" er en af Carvers mest berømte noveller. Den blev første gang udgivet i tidsskriftet Esquire i 1971, og optrådte senere i Carvers novellesamling Will You Please Be Quiet, Please (1976).

Uddrag

Nedenfor kan du læse et kort uddrag fra vores study guide til teksten:

Title

The simplicity of the title leaves a lot of room for interpretation, letting the reader explore its shifting meaning throughout the story. The title creates the reader expectation that the focus of the short story is on the relationship between neighbours, who are revealed to be the Millers and the Stones. However, as we observe the actions of the main characters, Bill and Arlene Miller, we realise that the neighbourly relationship is not that simple. Bill and Arlene judge the quality of their lives by comparing it to that of others and consider it to be worse than that of their neighbours (p 86, ll. 4-6). We get some indication of this when Arlene says “ ‘God knows, we could use a vacation’ ” (p. 87, l. 10).