Raymond Carver
The Elephant notes:
One. Reading Questions
1. What kind of metaphorical meaning do we get from the story’s title? An elephant bears heavy burdens, it suffers, and it never forgets. This speaks perhaps to the narrator’s martyr complex.
2. What is the narrator’s dependence or addiction? He’s dependent on people being dependent on him. He even lets his brother “play” him, like “play him for a fool.”
3. What pattern of the narrator’s pathological behavior becomes evident on page 476? He’s giving money to everyone. Brother, mother, ex-wife, ex-wife’s lovers, daughter, daughter’s bum who fathered his daughter’s children, his son, etc. Everyone is on the “payroll.” He needs to feel wanted. His self-esteem must be in the toilet.
4. How much threat is there when he says he’s going away to Australia? None because everyone knows he’s a junkie giver, an enabler.
5. What is dangerous about enablers such as the narrator? They reinforce the sloth, laziness, and helplessness of others. They do in name of duty and sacrifice when in fact they are needy people.
6. Why can’t an enabler like the narrator “just say no” and establish boundaries with people? Because he knows the truth: If he cuts off the money, he will be lonely and he cannot stand loneliness. The story shows the depths of suffering loneliness causes and the lengths people will go to in order to stave off loneliness.
7. In addition to giving or “loaning” people money, what other kinds of enabling behavior do we see? Teachers who let students walk all over them. People who let their boyfriends, girlfriends, or spouses repeatedly cheat on them. People who do their friends’ homework for them. People who put up with any kind of abuse but don’t establish boundaries because they are afraid of being alone.
8. How does being a martyr feed the narrator’s ego? He feels wanted. He feels needed. He feels like he makes a Herculean sacrifice for the sake of others. This in turn makes him feel morally superior. But
One. Reading Questions
1. What kind of metaphorical meaning do we get from the story’s title? An elephant bears heavy burdens, it suffers, and it never forgets. This speaks perhaps to the narrator’s martyr complex.
2. What is the narrator’s dependence or addiction? He’s dependent on people being dependent on him. He even lets his brother “play” him, like “play him for a fool.”
3. What pattern of the narrator’s pathological behavior becomes evident on page 476? He’s giving money to everyone. Brother, mother, ex-wife, ex-wife’s lovers, daughter, daughter’s bum who fathered his daughter’s children, his son, etc. Everyone is on the “payroll.” He needs to feel wanted. His self-esteem must be in the toilet.
4. How much threat is there when he says he’s going away to Australia? None because everyone knows he’s a junkie giver, an enabler.
5. What is dangerous about enablers such as the narrator? They reinforce the sloth, laziness, and helplessness of others. They do in name of duty and sacrifice when in fact they are needy people.
6. Why can’t an enabler like the narrator “just say no” and establish boundaries with people? Because he knows the truth: If he cuts off the money, he will be lonely and he cannot stand loneliness. The story shows the depths of suffering loneliness causes and the lengths people will go to in order to stave off loneliness.
7. In addition to giving or “loaning” people money, what other kinds of enabling behavior do we see? Teachers who let students walk all over them. People who let their boyfriends, girlfriends, or spouses repeatedly cheat on them. People who do their friends’ homework for them. People who put up with any kind of abuse but don’t establish boundaries because they are afraid of being alone.
8. How does being a martyr feed the narrator’s ego? He feels wanted. He feels needed. He feels like he makes a Herculean sacrifice for the sake of others. This in turn makes him feel morally superior. But