“A Small, Good Thing” by Raymond Carver
E825120
“A Small, Good Thing” is a poignant short story by Raymond Carver that explores grief, miscommunication, and human connection in the aftermath of a child’s tragic accident.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| “A Small, Good Thing” by Raymond Carver canonical | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | short story ⓘ |
| adaptationNote | expands and revises the earlier story "The Bath" ⓘ |
| adaptedFrom | "The Bath" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Raymond Carver NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| collectedIn | "Where I'm Calling From" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criticalReputation | one of Raymond Carver's most acclaimed stories ⓘ |
| explores |
the difficulty of communication in crisis
ⓘ
the limits of medical reassurance ⓘ the possibility of connection between strangers ⓘ |
| firstPublicationType | short story collection ⓘ |
| firstPublishedIn | "Cathedral" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
realist fiction
ⓘ
short fiction ⓘ |
| hasSubject |
parents coping with the death of a child
ⓘ
working-class life in America ⓘ |
| includedIn | Raymond Carver's later, less heavily edited stories ⓘ |
| includedInCollection | "Cathedral" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryDevice |
realistic dialogue
ⓘ
symbolism of food as solace ⓘ understatement ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | minimalism ⓘ |
| mainCharacter |
Ann Weiss
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Howard Weiss NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| narrativePointOfView | third-person limited ⓘ |
| notableCharacter | the baker ⓘ |
| plotElement |
a young boy is hit by a car on his birthday
ⓘ
the baker offers food and comfort to the grieving parents ⓘ the boy later dies in the hospital ⓘ the parents confront the baker about the calls ⓘ the parents receive anonymous phone calls from the baker ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1983 ⓘ |
| publisherOfFirstCollection | Alfred A. Knopf NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork | "The Bath" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | an unnamed American city ⓘ |
| theme |
compassion
ⓘ
everyday tragedy ⓘ grief ⓘ human connection ⓘ isolation ⓘ loss ⓘ miscommunication ⓘ parental love ⓘ |
| titleRefersTo | the comfort of sharing food in a time of grief ⓘ |
| tone |
empathetic
ⓘ
somber ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.