Perspectives

Literary period

Raymond Carver’s short story “The Idea” fits the modernist literary movement. This movement experienced a rise in the late 19th century and carried on through the early 20th century. Although the story was first published in 1976, Modernism was still a popular literary style used by many authors of that time period.

Modernist works can be recognized through themes, context, and narrative techniques. In “The Idea,” Raymond Carver explores themes such as sexuality and non-traditional codes of behavior, themes which are often encountered in other modernist works.

In terms of modernist narrative techniques, the short story employs a style in which meaning is established through dialogue and through action. Nothing is stated explicitly. This style of writing is often referred to as the iceberg theory, and it was coined by the American modernist writer Ernest Hemingway. It is a minimali...