Point of View

The point of view in Carver’s stories is somewhat split. The author describes lives that are not self-aware or self-reflective. He translates their faults and limitations right into print, as if he wants to let characters speak for themselves. But the author also conveys to the reader he does not agree with the characters. Whether it is the husband’s ignorance and prejudice in Cathedral, or the narrator’s impatience and indifference in Where I’m Calling From, the characters live in a world the author clearly knows well—having been an alcoholic himself. But it is a world he is no longer at home in, and the point of view tells us he would not be comfortable there. He has too much mastery over the craft of writing. He is too self-conscious, now. Probably, he is ashamed of himself and his youthful exploits...