Write an essay focused on Raymond Carver’s short story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

Write an essay focused on Raymond Carver’s short story collection, What We Talk
About When We Talk About Love. What is a central theme you see working
throughout the stories in the book? Explain how that theme is present through the
elements of Character, Setting, Point of View and Imagery. Draw from at least four
stories from the collection.

– Remember that the elements of a short story include the following: Plot,
Character, Setting, Point of View, Imagery, Language, and Theme.
– One strategy for determining a theme is to look at the stories that drew a strong
response from you; not necessarily the ones that you liked, though that’s fine,
but also the ones you found confusing or strange or that resonated with you.
– When drawing up a theme for Carver’s stories, avoid overly broad and vague
statements like “The stories are about love” or “The stories are about the
problems of adultery.” A theme should be a specific claim about a topic the
stories present.
– Draw from the stories themselves for specific textual support, namely quotes. you are critically analyzing the work and need to support
any claims, observations, and interpretations you make with concrete evidence
from the stories.
– Avoid summaries of the stories; assume your reader is already familiar with the
stories themselves, so what you are responsible for it explaining and supporting
your argument about Carver’s collection

Essay Length – 5-6 pages
Introduction – Must contain full name of author and full title of work so readers
know what you are focusing on.
Theme – Located in the introduction (usually at the end) and states the central
argument of your essay.
Body Paragraphs – Make sure you explain and clarify the connection between
the topic of the paragraph with your theme.
Conclusion – Restate the thesis using different words and end on some kind of
final observation, thought, opinion that encapsulates the stories you focused on

MLA formatting

Header – Top left corner; double-spaced; includes Name, Class, Instructor, Date
Title – Centered; one return after the Header; essay begins one return after Title
(Every essay must have a title that gives the reader an idea what it’s about; note
that it doesn’t clarify anything to a reader to re-state the title of the essay you are
summarizing)

Spacing – Everything, including the Header, is double-spaced

Margins – Left/Right = 1”; Top/Bottom = 1”

Font – Type = Times New Roman; Size = 12pt
Page #s – Top right hand corner, INSIDE the Header Space