Carvers Alcoholism in His Life and in His

Carver’s Alcoholism in His Life and in His Literature Brady Shaper

Stories That Involve Alcohol • “Are These Actual Miles? ” – Scotch • ”Why Don’t You Dance? ” Whiskey • “Vitamins” – Scotch • “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” – Gin • “Where I’m Calling From” – Beer, Wine, Gin, Vodka, Bourbon • ”Feathers” – Beer • “Cathedral” – Scotch • Seven of the ten short stories we read involve a reference to alcohol

Carver’s Background with Alcohol • Began drinking during his first marriage, after he met another woman while on a trip with a friend. • “As brilliant and talented as he was, Ray Carver was also the destructive, everything in the pot kind of drinker who hits bottom, then starts burrowing deeper” (King). • “After Maryann [his first wife] indulged in ‘a tipsy flirtation’ at a dinner party in 1975 — by which time Carver’s alcoholism had reached the full blown stage — he hit her upside the head with a wine bottle, severing an artery near her ear and almost killing her” (King). • Many years of Alcoholics Anonymous and several treatment centers to beat addiction.

Alcohol in “Vitamins” • Alcohol is referenced approximately 40 times in the 19 pages (Messer).

“Cathedral” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” • Have the deepest meanings of alcohol in them • Have correlations to his life as an alcoholic

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” • Presence of gin from start to finish • The four characters drank three bottles of gin • As drinking increases, so does the conversation about love • The conversation was not lighthearted • Alcohol was an influence to the conversations brought up

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” (cont. ) • “Carver explains how alcohol intensified his own life, ‘I don’t see anything coming out of my drinking experiences except waste and pain and misery. And it was that way for everybody involved in my life’” (Carver and Alcoholism). – during an interview • Seems to be true in the story and his life

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” (cont. ) • Mel deals with his issues by using alcohol as a suppressant • Had an impact on his life and his wife’s • Mel’s mistreatment of his first wife led to the separation of him form his family Very similar to Carver • This story is one of many that Carver’s alcoholism reflects in his writings

“Cathedral” • Before every event, the narrator is either preparing a drink or already has one. • When the wife tries to kill herself, she washes pills down with gin. • When the narrator is going to listening to the tape to the blind man, he takes a drink. • Throughout the evening, the characters have numerous drinks. • The more alcohol was consumed, the less focus the story had.

“Cathedral” (cont. ) • Very good representation of how Carver’s life was dealing with alcoholism • As an alcoholic, Carver would drink before any event that provoked emotions. • “Even though Carver had written ‘Cathedral’ after he had gone through rehab to deal with his alcoholism, the story is a way of him coping with his pain” (Carver and Alcoholism). • Shows how the narrator and Robert bond over the consumption of alcohol

Conclusion • Carver’s life translates into his writings very well. • He used it as a coping mechanism for his alcoholism. • Many of his stories use alcohol as a major theme, just as it was a major them in his life.

Works Cited • King, Stephen. "Raymond Carver’s Life and Stories. " The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. • Messer, H. Collin. "Fleeing The Wasteland Of Alcoholism: Alienation, Recovery, And Hope In Raymond Carver's Cathedral. " Studies In Short Fiction 37. 1 (2012): 43 58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. • "Raymond Carver and Alcoholism. " - Home. N. p. , n. d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.