Dirty Realism in Carver's Work

Abstract

Dirty realism is the fiction of American authors who write about the dark side of contemporary life. Raymond Carver is one of the best representatives of this generation. His stories constitute a new voice in fiction. In fact, he writes about ordinary things in a simple language that depicts the pain and suffering rather than hope. His literary world reflects the chaotic life of his characters which results in short stories about unhappy marriages and people who continue living a futile life just because there is nothing else left to do. Carver's aim is to convey through language and symbols the special moments when these people's empty lives are separated from chaos. These stories are set in the North-Eastern part of the Pacific Ocean and revolve around the lives of farmers, alcoholics, secretaries, mechanics and other ordinary people. They appear in familiar surroundings and focus on trivial issues and what is more they are endowed with subtle descriptions of objects given through regional dialect. It is his skill to understand and portray the sensations of the characters that shows how the real life of common people in the years '70s and '80s in the USA really was. In this paper I intend to make a detailed analysis of the features of this dark realism in Carver's work.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p385