Structure

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Beginning

The short story "They're Not Your Husband" by Raymond Carver begins with a brief exposition, in which we learn that Earl Ober, the main character, is a salesman who is between jobs, and his wife, Doreen, works during nights as a waitress at a coffee shop at the edge of town. We learn that Earl is …

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Middle

In the rising action, Earl decides to drop by Doreen’s workplace and overhears two men in business suits talking about his wife’s physical appearance. The tension rises as one of the men remarks that “some jokers like their quim fat.” (p. 20, ll. 24-25), hinting that anyone who shows sexual interest in Doreen is a joker. This makes Earl feels targeted as her husband. The remark also foreshadows that later on, a waitress will use the same term, “joker”, to refer to Earl. …

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Ending

The falling action recreates the moment in the beginning which triggered Earl’s inner conflict, as the waitress uses the same word (joker), to refer to him as the two men had done: “Who is this joker, anyway?” (p. 27, l. 22-23). This further highlights the circular structure of the story and suggests that Earl’s actions of using Doreen to improve his own status have failed. The waitress and the man star…