Summary Of A Small Good Thing

Melody Beattle once said, “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” During the various times we have fallen short of our aspirations or failed in overcoming the obstacles we face, we have continually given up instead of standing back up and learning from our mistakes. In our lives, we have become accustomed to our possessions and talents, therefore not realizing the true value of the gifts God has given us in our daily lives. In the short story “A Small Good Thing” by author Raymond Carver, he presents us an example of how life can be taken in just moments and at any time, deepening the argument explaining why we should live every second of our lives by doing small good things. Too many
In one of the most influential quotes in our history, Mahatma Gandhi inspires us to “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” No matter what role we have been called to do in life, whether its being the neighborhood garbage man or the President of the United States, we are all encouraged to apply our talents and skills to impact the lives of our neighbors. In “A Small Good Thing”, the baker exemplifies what it truly means to positively influence others through the talents that he has been given. At the end of the story in the baker’s conversation with Ann and Howard he says, ““To repeat the days with the ovens endlessly full and endlessly empty. The party food, the celebrations he'd worked over. Icing knuckle-deep. The tiny wedding couples stuck into cakes. Hundreds of them, no, thousands by now. Birthdays. Just imagine all those candles burning. He had a necessary trade. He was a baker. He was glad he wasn't a florist. It was better to be feeding people. This was a better smell anytime than flowers”” (Carver 13). His story shows that even when it feels like he is doing the most lonely and depressing job, the baker actually appreciates what he has in life compared to others. My dad has always taught me to look up to others in striving to become a better person, but don’t look up to other people just to be depressed about what I don’t have. Instead, he has advised me to be grateful for what I do have because we are much more blessed with daily needs than many other people. To express gratitude when we are presented with obstacles should mean the same thing as being thankful for our opportunities. As a wise person once told me, “Our challenges are the tools God uses to shape us so that we can bring change to those around us.” Even though during the moments of hardships in our life we tend to shy away from gratitude, we must realize