So Much Water So Close To Home Analysis
"Abnormality of Stuart"
In Raymond Carver's "So Much Water So Close to Home", Carver exposes to the reader that Stuart has some emotional problems. Sudden outbursts and verbal eruptions are not uncommon for Stuart, as he continuously yells at his wife throughout the story. From this I am able to infer that Stuart has a dual personality, one side being normal and the other as a disturbed person. In this analysis of Stuart, I am going to show that by the following textual clues that he is not normal and has the potential to inflect severe damage upon others around him.
Sometimes body language can be more powerful than words. And in this case Stuart's subtle eye contact is strong enough to warn the reader that he is a dangerous character. The first …show more content…
He shows signs of anger and violence when Claire decides that she wants to sleep on the couch and he confronts her about it. "What are you doing?' he says puzzled. I'm not sleepy' I say avoiding his eyes He stares as I spread a sheet over the sofa. When I start to go for a pillow, he stands at the bedroom door, blocking the way. I'm going to ask you once more,' he says. "What the hell do you think you're going to accomplish by this?' I'm thinking you're making a big mistake by doing this, I'm thinking you'd better think again about what you're doing. Claire?'" (285). In this scene, Stuart appears to be on the verge of exploding. He is giving Claire obvious signs that she better be careful with how she pursues this whole situation. Once again though, he decides not to go over the edge with Claire. He chooses not to give up on her and hopes he is still able to convince her that he is innocent. But the more suspicious Claire becomes about her husband, the more likely she is to figure out his secret and leave him. And right when Claire gets close enough, is when Stuart will repeat his actions of rape and murder on his
In Raymond Carver's "So Much Water So Close to Home", Carver exposes to the reader that Stuart has some emotional problems. Sudden outbursts and verbal eruptions are not uncommon for Stuart, as he continuously yells at his wife throughout the story. From this I am able to infer that Stuart has a dual personality, one side being normal and the other as a disturbed person. In this analysis of Stuart, I am going to show that by the following textual clues that he is not normal and has the potential to inflect severe damage upon others around him.
Sometimes body language can be more powerful than words. And in this case Stuart's subtle eye contact is strong enough to warn the reader that he is a dangerous character. The first …show more content…
He shows signs of anger and violence when Claire decides that she wants to sleep on the couch and he confronts her about it. "What are you doing?' he says puzzled. I'm not sleepy' I say avoiding his eyes He stares as I spread a sheet over the sofa. When I start to go for a pillow, he stands at the bedroom door, blocking the way. I'm going to ask you once more,' he says. "What the hell do you think you're going to accomplish by this?' I'm thinking you're making a big mistake by doing this, I'm thinking you'd better think again about what you're doing. Claire?'" (285). In this scene, Stuart appears to be on the verge of exploding. He is giving Claire obvious signs that she better be careful with how she pursues this whole situation. Once again though, he decides not to go over the edge with Claire. He chooses not to give up on her and hopes he is still able to convince her that he is innocent. But the more suspicious Claire becomes about her husband, the more likely she is to figure out his secret and leave him. And right when Claire gets close enough, is when Stuart will repeat his actions of rape and murder on his