Stuart

Outer characterization

Stuart is the other main character of the story “So Much Water So Close to Home” by Raymond Carver. He is married to Claire, and they have a son named Dean. Stuart likes fishing, playing poker, and bowling (ll. 33-34), and he drinks whiskey (l. 206) or beer (l. 73). Claire claims that he has “big hands” (l. 74) and “hairy legs” (l. 121). Claire also describes him and his friends as decent family men (ll. 35-36), but, given their actions regarding the dead girl, this description becomes somewhat ironic.

Inner characterization

While on a fishing trip with his three friends, Stuart discovered a dead girl’s body. Instead of letting the police know about it as soon as possible, the four men decided to ignore the body and focus on the rest of their trip. Stuart and his friends continued to fish, eat, and have fun close t...