Analysis of Vitamins

Vitamins” is a post-modern short story by Raymond Carver (1938-1988). Raymond was a very famous writer of the 20th century, and well-known for his short stories1. In “Vitamins” occur themes like loneliness, aiming at a successful life and how every dream can be broken by drinking too much. Drinking too much is one of the main causes to, that the characters have given up their dreams. Especially the main character, a young man who works at a hospital, drinks to get rid of all his problems, to forget about them. He seems to have a mediocre life with a job, and a girlfriend, but apparently he isn't satisfied. It was may be because the girlfriend, Patti, doesn't care about him, maybe because he is in love with Donna. In this characters who lead lives of ordinary and very modest: a woman going door to door selling vitamins and depression (Vitamins of happiness),

The title, “Vitamins”, could refer to the fact that vitamins are healthy. They are strong and are not meant to make people sick - kind of the opposite of what is happening in the story. The story takes place about Portland, Oregon, in the North-western USA. We start about Christmas and end a bit after New Year's. The story could be in our time, like it could be in the 80's. The story is minimalistic, in other words aren't we told more than the top of the iceberg. The rest we have to figure out ourselves. We are thrown directly into the story without any presentation - a presentation we never get. In “Vitamins” we never get know the main character. We know it is a fellow, a guy, whom works at a hospital, cleaning floors or so, and we know he has a relationship to Patti and the hots for Donna. But that is it; we don't get more information about him (Carver, 45).

In "Vitamins," Carver values hyperbolic replicate the class. History comprises of nine parts of diverse extents, said not less than the identical stage of more space than common between certain points, as they change the scene. Vitamin sales are so reduced that Patti is now their best customers. It advocates a multivitamin from doorway to doorway with colleagues Sheila and Donna. Three women were not welcome. A man who inhabits with Patti is the narrator of history. Patti accuses him of not nurturing about anything. The narrator chases the Off-Broadway, an association where you can drink and music. He is bodily captivated to Donna and was there today (Carver, 45). Two drunken men, Benny and Nelson, will be asked for to connect the twosome in their booth at the club. Donna is vulgar and suggestions. Nelson has a "memory" - the human ear adhered to keychain. He took off his ear, the Vietnamese people.

After departing the association, Donna admits that he could use a couple of century dollars that Nelson suggested in exchange for sexy favors. She designs to depart his job and ...