On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing”
The essay examines three temporalities traversed by Scotty’s parents as their child lies in a coma drifting towards his death. In the first temporal dimension, time is sought to be harnessed to human desire; here the parents’ waiting is purposeful, framed by prediction and expectation whose symboli...
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| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jsse, |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lenguaje: | Anglais |
| Publicado: |
Journal of the Short Story in English
2008
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| Acceso en línea: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:jsse_500 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:jsse_500 en https://journals.openedition.org/jsse/500 2008-09-11T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/hb39 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” Journal of the Short Story in English Presses universitaires de Rennes info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1969-6108 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0294-0442 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jsse Schweizer, Harold The essay examines three temporalities traversed by Scotty’s parents as their child lies in a coma drifting towards his death. In the first temporal dimension, time is sought to be harnessed to human desire; here the parents’ waiting is purposeful, framed by prediction and expectation whose symbolic space is the waiting room. Once these temporal markers prove illusory, Scotty’s parents begin to wait in a dimension beyond measurable time; its locus is the parking lot outside the hospital window where an endless stream of entering and exiting cars performs a temporal fluidity immeasurable and indifferent to waiting and the hope it implies. In a third temporal dimension, symbolized by the space of the cathedral, the futile repetitions of time are miraculously gathered up in an unexpected plentitude, a sudden fulfillment of time, attained in the parents’ meal with the baker. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| description |
The essay examines three temporalities traversed by Scotty’s parents as their child lies in a coma drifting towards his death. In the first temporal dimension, time is sought to be harnessed to human desire; here the parents’ waiting is purposeful, framed by prediction and expectation whose symbolic space is the waiting room. Once these temporal markers prove illusory, Scotty’s parents begin to wait in a dimension beyond measurable time; its locus is the parking lot outside the hospital window where an endless stream of entering and exiting cars performs a temporal fluidity immeasurable and indifferent to waiting and the hope it implies. In a third temporal dimension, symbolized by the space of the cathedral, the futile repetitions of time are miraculously gathered up in an unexpected plentitude, a sudden fulfillment of time, attained in the parents’ meal with the baker. |
| author |
Schweizer, Harold |
| spellingShingle |
Schweizer, Harold On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| author_facet |
Schweizer, Harold |
| author_sort |
Schweizer, Harold |
| title |
On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| title_short |
On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| title_full |
On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| title_fullStr |
On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| title_full_unstemmed |
On Waiting in Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing” |
| title_sort |
on waiting in raymond carver’s “a small, good thing” |
| publisher |
Journal of the Short Story in English |
| publishDate |
2008 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/jsse |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/jsse/500 |
| _version_ |
1877244495855091712 |