75 pages • 2 hours read
Raymond CarverA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
An unnamed narrator of the story describes how his wife, Patti, decided one day to get a job for the sake of her own self-worth. The narrator works at a hospital in what he calls a “nothing job” (88). Patti becomes a door-to-door vitamin salesperson. While many people fail at this job, Patti excels. She eventually leads a team of two women, Donna and Sheila, who work reliably under her. To the narrator, Patti is the most attractive of the women, while Donna and Sheila are “medium-pretty” (89). Sheila confessed her love to Patti, but Patti had told her that she is not attracted to women.
Around the same time, near Christmas, vitamin sales are low. To improve morale, Patti and the narrator throw a party. Sheila gets very drunk and passes out, hitting her hand on the coffee table as she falls. Patti and the narrator put her to bed, but Sheila wakes up a few hours later while the narrator drinks alone after the party ends. Sheila is angry because she has a headache and a seemingly broken finger. She needs a ride to the emergency room and demands that the narrator wake Patti up. The narrator offers to drive her, but Sheila refuses because he is still drunk.
By Raymond Carver
A Small Good Thing
A Small Good Thing
Raymond Carver
Beginners
Beginners
Raymond Carver
So Much Water So Close to Home
So Much Water So Close to Home
Raymond Carver
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Raymond Carver
Where I'm Calling From
Where I'm Calling From
Raymond Carver