“Neighbors” by Raymond Carver
E825115
“Neighbors” by Raymond Carver is a minimalist short story about a married couple whose fascination with their neighbors’ apartment exposes their own dissatisfaction and hidden desires.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| “Neighbors” by Raymond Carver canonical | 1 |
Statements (43)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | short story ⓘ |
| author | Raymond Carver NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| collectedIn | "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| collectedInPublicationYear | 1976 ⓘ |
| conflict | internal conflict within Bill and Arlene about their own lives and desires ⓘ |
| containsMotif |
crossing boundaries
ⓘ
secret exploration of private spaces ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticalReception | widely anthologized and frequently discussed in Carver scholarship ⓘ |
| endingType | open-ended ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Harriet Stone
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jim Stone NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstPublicationYear | 1971 ⓘ |
| firstPublishedIn | Esquire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
minimalist fiction
ⓘ
realist fiction ⓘ |
| includedIn | college literature curricula ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryForm | short fiction ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | minimalism ⓘ |
| literarySignificance | early example of Raymond Carver’s minimalist style ⓘ |
| mainCharacter |
Arlene Miller
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bill Miller NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | third-person limited ⓘ |
| plotSummary | A couple caring for their neighbors’ apartment becomes increasingly obsessed with the neighbors’ possessions and life. ⓘ |
| setting | an apartment building ⓘ |
| style |
economical prose
ⓘ
minimalist ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
fantasized escape from routine
ⓘ
marriage ⓘ ordinary middle-class life ⓘ |
| symbol |
the Stones’ apartment
ⓘ
the neighbors’ belongings ⓘ |
| targetAudience | adult readers ⓘ |
| theme |
class anxiety
ⓘ
envy ⓘ identity ⓘ marital dissatisfaction ⓘ repressed desire ⓘ voyeurism ⓘ |
| tone |
restrained
ⓘ
uneasy ⓘ |
| wordCountApproximate | short story length ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.