It is obvious that Claire doesn’t want to have sex with Stuart (for the second time) and he is forcing himself on her but Claire ‘can’t hear a thing with so much water going.’. That is why she says at the end of the story: For God sake Stuart, she was just a child! When I read this paragraph for the first time, it sounded like a threat, but reading it for the second time, I see that Carver is being very vague here, and doesn’t say whose violence would end this affair. Carver died in August 1988. She starts talking about Madoxx murders out of nowhere, and when Stuart stops her daydreaming about drowning, by saying: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you”, she slaps him (twice?). So Much Water So Close to Home by Raymond Carver Essay Sample. It peaked at number 116 on the ARIA singles chart. Raymond Carver (1938-1988) is one of the most famous American writers of the twentieth century. In So Much Water So Close To Home, Carver follows along these lines mainly focusing on society’s view on what is morally right and wrong. So Much Water So Close To Home Essay by EssaySwap Contributor , College, Undergraduate , February 2008 download word file , 3 pages download word file , 3 pages 3.0 1 votes Final line was Claire thinking “For God’s sake Stuart, she was a little girl”. I would also agree with you that Claire may feel bullied by Stuart. As you say, Stuart is unaffectionate and insensitive. I’ll try and source a copy of Furious Seasons. Taken from his What We Talk About When We Talk About Love collection the story is narrated in the first person by a woman called Claire and it begins with Claire sitting at home with her husband Stuart who is eating his dinner. Stuart could be looking back hoping that things might have been different and Claire could easily of attended the funeral as an apology for Stuart’s actions (or lack of actions). The story speaks to me of an oppressed woman (it’s interesting others have seen her as insane – think ‘woman in the attic’ – let’s lock up those crazy women who refuse to accept their role in society that men have carved out for them!) What is interesting about the opening scene is the fact that there is some distance between Claire and Stuart (as if they do not know each other). Which may be a result of having as you suggest entered a relationship at a young age and committing herself to Stuart. So much water so close at home is an engrossing story that was written by Raymond Carver. ... No one has written a summary for "So Much Water So Close to Home." “She smiles, as if she has a secret, when she thinks about the future.” A pretty chilling line. Kelly co-wrote the score for the 2006 Australian film Jindabyne, which was also based on the same story. Though it is not explicitly said in the opening scene of the story later the reader realizes that Claire suspects that Stuart and his friends may have possibly killed the young girl. The first example is one of the key phrases in the work, "So much water so close to home, why did he have to go miles away to fish?" That’s why Claire identifies so strongly with her. Credibility is so important when writing for an audience; it isn’t helped by unscholarly or unreasonable grammer. [ 5 ] High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. By Raymond Carver. I KNOW HE HAS HEARD, HE RAISES HIS HEAD AS IF LISTENING, BUT HE DOESNT MOVE. When Stuart talks to Claire, for instance, he comes across as short-tempered and verbally abusive (ll. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. ” So much water so close to home and other kinds of academic papers in our essays database at Many Essays. For me, the menace of “So Much Water So Close to Home” is only fully realized with the knowledge of context, where the story took place and when. Its entirely plausible it could have been Stuart from this but there is no clear motive or alibi given nor intent established which, while (completely Carvers style) it does raise the question. Listen to So Much Water (So Close to Home) from Captain Planet's Wasser Kommt Wasser Geht for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. HE DOESNT MOVE. Roadshow Films, 2006. I think Stuart look through the mirror (at least in the narrator point of view) to observe Claire’s facial expression. In So Much Water So Close to Home by Raymond Carver we have the theme of doubt, disconnection, conflict, identity and isolation. Claire tells Stuart about the Maddox brothers suggesting to Stuart that ‘they said they were innocent.’ This is important as it suggests to the reader that Claire really doesn’t know who Stuart is anymore (identity). I would also agree with you that Claire can sense (or feel) Stuart’s guilt, worry and anxiety. This scene highlights the fear within Claire as she would be in great danger for knowing the secret of a murderer. The title comes from a short story of the same name by author Raymond Carver. When Carver’s editor Gordon Lish edited the story he stripped it right back and removed over half of what Carver had written. Style of language. So Much Water So Close To Home Essay Sample. First there is the incident at the sink (near water) when Claire pushes the dishes onto the ground. In the story, a man, Stuart, goes camping with friends for the weekend up in the mountains. Raymond Carver’s short story “So Much Water So Close to Home” is written in a simple style. This is important as Claire is in essence re-evaluating not only her marriage to Stuart but Stuart himself (who he is, his identity). I feel sleepy. Hi Pooja, according to my understanding / reading of the story, you come close to hitting the nail on the head. So Much Water So Close to Home. McManus, Dermot. I’m thinking mental institution, of course. Then this line might be Claire (and Carver highlighting she) is jealous, isolated and against Stuart and things will never be the same again between the two (Stuart not reporting girl’s dead body was maybe the fact that triggered it). He chews, arms on the table, and stares at something across the room. Stuart tells Claire not to answer the phone. Claire sees herself at the bottom of the creek because she has the possible killer close to her. [9] All tracks for the album were written by Kelly,[10] who provided vocals, guitar and harmonica and also co-produced with Litt. In the story “So Much Water So Close To Home” a young girl is raped, killed and found in a river where four men are fishing. Also the girl’s body was found in water. Thanks for the comment Craig. While others think the only thing he is guilty of is not reporting the crime when he first came across the girl’s body. You could be right. [5] It peaked at #10 on the ARIA album charts,[9] but none of its singles reached the ARIA Top 40 Singles charts. The short story “So Much Water So Close To Home” is written by the American minimalist Raymond Carver and was first published in 1974. I think looking in the rearview mirror could also suggest that Stuart is revisiting the discovery of the body or the murder, that he wished he had done things differently. Our narrator realises that her life has no value and she wants to make a change. DTW Authors. Carver’s plot took advantage of the hysteria of the 1970’s to set up the theme of serial killings within the hypotext. It has been some years since I read this story, but one thing I do remember is that before it appeared in the form usually seen, it appeared in a slim volume of early work called “Furious Seasons,” and the version there was different, longer and with a rather darker ending. Credibility is important but it does not equate to grammar. Thanks for your work, I really like this website. Poor Claire. In Raymond Carvers short story So Much Water So Close To Home it begins with Claire the narrator, describing her husband the main character of the story Stuart Kane. And of course, once again she failes to retell a great deal of this conversation, just as she failed to remember what they were arguing about 5 years ago. Watch the video for So Much Water So Close To Home by Captain Planet for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. His eyes are red and for a minute I think he has been crying. By having sex and getting intimate again with her husband, she actually wants to make believe, and hopefully, make sure, that this is the man she knows as before and she wants that person back instead of just ditch him. Title: “So Much Water So Close to Home” Author: Raymond Carver Published in: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (collection) Date of Publication: 1981 Genre: Short Story. And once again, Stuart doesn’t respond on violence with violence, but instead takes her home. This is what changes her relationship with her husband and makes the story at once hopeful and devastating. Claire asks Stuart this because she can't get over the probablity of the men going to the river with a dead woman in it and resents her husbands call for adventure. Stuart’s efforts and patience remain unnoticed after reading it for the first time, but I think that is because we read a testimony of a very unreliable narrator, who is inclined to demonize her husbands actions: Thank you. Water is also mentioned near the end of the story when Stuart is opening Claire’s blouse. However, the poor grammer of the writer suggests that he or she is not a student of literature, and that the analysis is not necessarily based on more than unresearched opinion. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, What We Talk about When We Talk about Love by Raymond Carver, Everything Stuck to Him by Raymond Carver. Perf. [8] which was also based on the same story. Claire had felt it before under the surface but it had never been so clear to her. "So much water so close to home. Carver was unhappy with the edit and after he died his wife Tess Gallagher posthumously published the collection Beginners which is described as being Carver’s original manuscript of the collection What We Talk about When We Talk about Love. And it explains his lack of reaction after she breaks those dishes – she obviously did that kind of stuff all the time. Also a green car picked up the girl from the theater but we never find out what color car the men drove up to Naches or the color of the car Stuart drives. For instance, it indicates that men bear the highest responsibility for the death of women. “Water” as the representation of fear, suspicion, death and loss leaves Claire disoriented and vulnerable. ... remain the sole copyright of the authors and may not be reproduced or re-purposed in whole or in part without their written permission. So Much Water So Close To Home If it’s raining the ceiling’s probably leaking A landlord is a parasitic cretin He’s exploiting a system keeping Social mobility stagnant i’m spitting While they are driving through town in Stuart’s car, on their way to the beach, neither is speaking to each other. Lish’s edits seem to guide the reader in one direction while Carver himself puts more meat onto the story. I would say, judging by their interaction here, that she obviously had a history of violent outbursts, which is why he predicted and asked her not to get worked up. Euphoric moments between melody and staccato are coined by lyrics written to the point. Claire’s presence at the funeral is her way of apologizing for her husband. When Stuart talks to Claire, for instance, he comes across as short-tempered and verbally abusive. I would agree with you the final line ‘For God’s sake Stuart, she was just a child’ can really change a reader’s interpretation of the story. Thanks for the insight Sarah. The nature of the headches is clearly not physiological, but psychological; as they start every day at 4 o clock, possibly when Stuart comes home from work. There is so much distance between both characters that it is possible that she may be jealous (or suspicious) of him and any other relationship he may have with another (unnamed) woman. [7] Kelly co-wrote the score for the 2006 Australian film Jindabyne, In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Raymond Carver’s story “So Much Water So Close to Home” and Ray Lawrence’s Jindabyne differ drastically in the way Lawrence moves the story from the private to public sphere. [5] Under the Sun was released in 1987 in Australia and in 1988 internationally. Is that Carver showing us, Stuart was actually guilty? There definitely is a sense that Stuart is detached from Claire. Stuart looking into the rear-view mirror can be seen in my opinion as the fear to be followed in someway by any sort of revenge or justice, that’s fear, that’s what Claire sees and that’s why she says “he knows”. Did anyone else think there was some fucked up jealously going on, I thought it was all about her suspecting him right up until the end when she starts unbuttoning her blouse for him…so much water close to home becomes “what’s wrong with me” pretty fucked up but I think a bit more likely seeing as it is Carver. I just wanted to chime in here and the edition I have read from “Where I’m Calling From” (Vintage contemporaries (1989) the story (25 pages not sure if its the full version) ends with the “only a child” line totally threw me. I have one thing to add to the rear-view mirror thing. Claire is the narrator of the story. "Careless" is the second single released by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Messengers from their 1989 studio album, So Much Water So Close to Home. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The title comes from a short story of the same name by author Raymond Carver . Claire goes for a drive, to the spot where the girl was picked up, killed and dumped, to see if she can imaging what the girl went through, Claire does this out of guilt.. She told her hairdresser she did not know her well, but still went to her funeral, Stuart was not there. I will read the ending of my copy as her desperate want to escape or pass through this marriage crisis, even if it’s just for a moment. A world where no one trusts each other and no one cares about each other anymore, and her own life stuck in a moment she can't get out of, everything has turned into an old habit, and she even asks herself if she whishes to be somebody else. She smiles, as if she has a secret, when she thinks about the future. She is referring to herself actually and the loss of her own youth by entering a relationship which ended with the marriage. Analysis Of So Much Water So Close To Home. Yes, I feel Like this sheds an entirely new light on the entire story and all resonates so much more than the way I was reading it. I think that the main topic of the story is the sense of identification Claire has with the murdered girl. Start studying So much water so close to home Raymond Carver. He looks at me and looks away. His mother senses this lack of love for her son and hence seems cold and judgmental to Claire. What makes this story interesting is that after discovering the body they did not report it until after they left, three days later. It was released on Mushroom/White Records in … Different from simply “opened her legs” (the first time they had sex in the story), this time she responded with Stuart out of her own will. was originally released in August 1989. Aired Wednesday 9:00 PM Dec 16, 1987 on NBC. I love the part where she decides to sleep separately from him and locks the door, which he ends up knocking through. So Much Water.' Now, I’m more and more thinking here about The Shutter Island. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. She tells the events as they happen. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. I agree with your reasoning behind why he kept looking in the rear view mirror. Water symbolism goes well with her progressive suspicion and feeling of drowning in her own life, growing old with a man she doesnt even like. There is a sense of disbelief within Claire that Stuart took so long to report the body. Your email address will not be published. The first thought that popped into my head upon reading that sentence was that it portrays guilt, worry, and anxiety in him, something that is noticed by Claire and only reinstates her doubtful feelings about him. I’m not sure if the actual rape occured though, but even if it did occur – his sobbing afterwards, and red eyes/tears just before the incidents, with those kind words he said to her, and all the efforts before and after – this all just doesn’t go with a distant, careless and cold personality she tries to pin on him. One in which I hadn’t thought of before but it makes perfect sense. Let’s leave it alone. Maybe… I’m right in it, eyes open, face down, staring at the moss on the bottom, dead.’ Another incident involving water is when Claire is driving to the funeral. The song was later covered by Renée Geyer on … I think that she wants to keep a distance from her husband because she’s only afraid he could have done something terrible and she doesn’t trust him any more. Hurry.”, as Claire finished the buttons herself. [13] Kelly would go on to co-write the score for the 2006 Australian film Jindabyne,[8] which was also based on the same story. Thanks for the comment Carol. You make some excellent points 1990. Claire clearly identifies herself with that murdered girl, and sees her own youth as some other, past life, a life she lived before her own death, before she “died” by marrying Stuart. [6] Carver died in August 1988. This is important as Claire fears that she will be raped by the man and at the same time she can hear the river below the trees. I think Claire attended the victim’s funeral in order to gain further detachment from the public opinion of the husband. However Claire is starting to question not only her marriage to Stuart but her own identity. Thanks for the comment John. Jealously completely explains all her other actions. So Much Water So Close to Home is an album by Australian rock band Paul Kelly and the Messengers and was originally released in August 1989. Dialogue plays an important role in the story, as it presents the dynamics between characters. Then as Claire and Stuart pull up to the picnic ground the reader becomes aware of the creek running under the bridge. [5], Paul Kelly had formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls in 1985, named for a group mentioned by Lou Reed in "Walk on the Wild Side". This is crazy, I think as I slap him. so much water so close to home. That her mother in law comes to their place to take care of the child, and that “she, Claire, spoils everything and returns home in a few weeks.”. 14 thoughts on “So Much Water, So Close to Home” Dave says: 18 Oct 2018 at 06:50. Gordon Lish’s edits of the story really take away from what is in reality a story with many possibilities. Watched It I've Watched This. Some readers think he might be. Raymond Carver's "So Much Water So Close to Home" is an interesting short story detailing the marital tensions between a … [4][5][11] For international releases from 1987 on, they used the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers to avoid possible racist interpretations. There are a few incidents I would like to mention in this regard: Now, just before she smashes the dishes they are having a curious discussion about the dead girl. Style of language. It highlights the different characters that exist between me and women in the social context of the American culture. ”, And just as he asks her not to get worked up, she smashes the dishes: “I must not dwell on this any longer. But no more. In the story we do not know whether Stuart and his friends had anything to do with the girl’s death. Sure thing. The title comes from a short story of the same name by author Raymond Carver. There definitely is a disconnection between the genders at its worst database at many essays have to miles! Responsibility for the comment Matias, you come Close to her husband when was so much water so close to home written explains his lack of love her... Thing to add to the rear-view mirror thing of closeness to her writing for an ;. 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Likes water clear motive come Close to Home. each other and knowing.