Responding to Literature - Assignment

Fat Makes Sense

An Analysis of Sensual Symbolisms in Raymond Carver 's Fat

The legendary American writer Raymond Carver is best known for minimalism in linguistic style and narration , and has produced several short story collections that validate this reputation . Which is why a story entitled Fat ' seems ironic , until one actually reads the piece Fat ' is absolutely non-descriptive of the technical attributes of the story , with its length only under six pages of large text . But the subject , theme , and meanings employed in the writing are definitely more than ample

, and create a fat ' basis for a number of concepts and insights . Carver 's story discusses the often-ridiculed idea of fat or excess in imagery and symbolic devices that equate it with sensuality and satisfaction

The story is told in first-person to a woman named Rita , by a nameless narrator who is established to be a waitress at a restaurant . As she and her work colleagues carry out their tasks of serving customers , she notices a guest who appears to be on the extreme side of big . She serves him a full meal , composed of several courses , and is fascinated by the way he eats . While the rest of the staff proclaims their amazement at the overwhelming size of the man , the narrator continues to present serving after serving of food that are quickly devoured . But as her attention is completely captured by the man , her apparent lover Rudy , who also works at the restaurant , notices the connection between his girl and the overweight customer . Later , the narrator shares her bed with Rudy , she acknowledges an unexplained change in her attitude She merely tells Rita , who appears to have neither empathy nor understanding of what the narrator is saying , that she feels her life is about to change

The narrator , in the beginning of the story , narrates her impression of the fat man , in retrospect . She sees him initially way all others do who never go beyond the surprise of seeing such a size . But because she paid more attention to the man , she began to notice subtle things bout him , like being neat-appearing and well-dressed (Carver , 1988 ,

br 64 . Then she begins to note more details about the man , particularly his fingers , which were long , thick , creamy (Carver ,

. 64 , and the strangeness about the way he spoke . The fat man , as described by the narrator , seemed to have a way with words the same way he had a manner of eating - proper yet to the point , accompanied by the stereotype voracious appetite that came with an untypical style of savoring even the s of the food he ed

Compare this to Rudy , the narrator 's lover , who is described as one who takes s with a face (Carver ,

. 65 . This shows his normal disposition , which , in contrast to the fat man , is clearly defined by discontentment and unhappiness in the job at hand . A woman named Margo is mentioned , the one who chases Rudy (Carver , p...