Carver and Conflation

Carver and Conflation Humans are never completely satisfied. They always manage to find something about themselves-their looks, their job, their social status-that is substandard. The discontent with one’s self often arises when he compares himself to another. The comparison leads to envy or jealousy and even a want to be the other person. Thus is the case of Bill and Arlene Miller in Robert Carver’s short story “Neighbors.” The Millers are a middle …

…impulses taken to an obsessive level help to get Carver’s point across to the reader. The degree of Bill’s acts bring to the surface the basic and universal desire that people have to be somebody else by making them uncomfortable. Carver’s depiction of a couple with a dark side is easy to relate to and understand due to his use of the paradoxical dichotomy of “universal” and “unique” that characterizes every theme.