So Much Water So Close To Home Analysis

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In “So Much Water, So close To Home”, Raymond Carver creates an atmosphere that questions the innocence of four fishermen when they discover a dead naked young girl who was raped and killed in a river. However, instead of reporting it right away, they waited until three days later when they finished their trip. Because of this, the narrator, Claire, One of the fisherman’s wife, thinks back to a murder that happened in her childhood that was similar to the recent one. This makes here suspicious and curious as to why her husband, Stuart, didn’t report the girl. She draws conclusions and becomes paranoid when Stuart begins to get angry and defensive when asked questions about the event. Carver begins his story by describing and possibly hinting at the guilt Stuart has as he and Clair are eating their breakfast. He says, “My husband eats with a…show more content…
But I don’t think he’s really hungry.” (Carver 79). When people don’t eat or just don’t have the appetite when they usually do it’s because they have something on their mind. Something that is eating away at their conscious that just wants to get out. This already creates a suspicion at Stuart and possible malicious intents that he has. This behavior makes it look like Stuart has something to hide as he watches her every move at the dinner table, “…stares at something across the room. He looks at me and looks away.” (Carver 79). Stuart could be facing paranoia as someone would when they have done something that has made them feel guilty or shallow which they can’t accept. According to Mental Health America in “Paranoia and Paranoid Disorders”, “paranoia may arise from repressed, denied or projected feelings.” Because of the feelings Stuart has, he is facing paranoia, worrying every constant second about his life and

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