Perspectives

Literary period

Raymond Carver’s short story “Neighbors” was first published in 1971, in Esquire magazine. Like most of Carver’s stories, it is written in a minimalist style. Literary minimalism is characterised by simple and realistic language, as well as very little action and only a few characters. The reader is left to interpret the message of the story from the few details offered, as the text favours showing over telling. All of this fits with Carver’s short story.

“Neighbors” is also an example of the literary movement known as dirty realism. Dirty realism frequently focus on the working class and their issues. The writing style tends to be grim and impersonal. What goes on in the stories are actions from ordinary life, and the point of this is to show just how boring, repetitive, and unsatisfying lives of the working class are. 

Raymond Carver’s “Neighbors” is focused on the middle class and their issues in the shape of Bill and Arlene. However, the events in the story are relatively ordinary, such as watering someone’s plants and feeding their cat. Bill and Arlene’s dissatisfaction with their lives are central t...

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