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Facultad De Filosofía, Letras Y Ciencias De La Educación Escuela De Lengua Y Literatura Inglesa

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Facultad De Filosofía, Letras Y Ciencias De La Educación Escuela De Lengua Y Literatura Inglesa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN ESCUELA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESA “RAYMOND CARVER’S SHORT STORIES AND THEIR INFLUENCES ON AMERICAN LITERATURE” Tesis previa a la obtención del Título de Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación de la Especialidad de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa Autores: Ruth Elizabeth Auquilla Tama Diego Manuel Villa Orozco Director: Dr. Ion Youman 2013 1 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa ABSTRACT The present work, in which we talk about Raymond Carver’s life and stories, is important in the literary field of our city because, since Carver is one of the best and most important story writers in America, he cannot stay any longer in the unknown. Therefore, what we have done is collect information about Carver’s life and writing career and analyze this in order to comprehend why he and his work have been incredibly acclaimed in many countries. Also, how other writers have been influenced by Carver’s masterpieces is to be explained and analyzed. In order to carry out this investigation, the methods Analytic and Synthetic were required. The Analytic method helped us to study every aspect in Carver’s life that was important and relevant in his work. Moreover, the Synthetic method helped us to organize all those aspects to understand the themes and style of his stories, and also to get conclusions about them. As a result, we learned what writers’ lives are like and what leads them to write, including their motivations and preparation. We were also entertained and fascinated by the stories Carver wanted to share in every story he wrote. Likewise, this is important because of the impact that Carver’s work has had in the literary world of America and many other countries where the stories and poetry written by him have reached. 2 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 2 Authorship .................................................................................................................... 6 Dedication ................................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgment........................................................................................................ 11 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 12 Chapter I: The Problem .............................................................................................. 15 1.1 Topic ........................................................................................................... 15 1.2 Description of the Problem ....................................................................... 15 1.3 Justification ................................................................................................ 16 1.4 Objectives ................................................................................................... 18 1.4.1 General Objectives ....................................................................... 18 1.4.2 Specific Objectives ...................................................................... 18 Chapter II: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 19 2.1 Carver’s Life ............................................................................................... 19 2.1.1 Carver’s Family and Early Life .................................................... 20 2.1.2 Raymond Carver’s Writing Career .............................................. 30 2.1.2.1 Carver’s Motivation for Writing Short Stories .............. 31 2.1.2.2 Carver’s Influences ......................................................... 34 2.1.2.3 Academic Preparation .................................................... 44 3 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 2.1.3 Raymond Carver’s Marriages ...................................................... 56 2.1.4 Raymond Carver’s Second Marriage and Death........................ 60 2.2 Carver’s Writing Procedures .................................................................... 69 2.3 Carver’s Collections of Short Stories ...................................................... 84 2.3.1 Early Collections of Stories ......................................................... 94 2.3.1.1 Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? ................................ 95 2.3.1.1.1 Storyline Synopses ......................................... 101 2.3.1.2 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love ....... 123 2.3.1.2.1 Storyline Synopses ......................................... 134 2.3.2 Later Collections of Stories ...................................................... 159 2.3.2.1 Cathedral ....................................................................... 160 2.3.2.1.1 Storyline Synopses ......................................... 167 2.3.2.2 Where I’m Calling From ................................................ 189 2.3.2.2.1 Storyline Synopses ......................................... 194 2.3.3 Other Works ................................................................................ 208 Chapter III: Methodology ......................................................................................... 211 3.1 Basic Methodology .................................................................................. 211 3.2 Impact and Influence of Carver’s Work on Other Writers .................... 212 Chapter IV: Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................. 228 4.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 228 4 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 4.2 Recommendations .................................................................................. 230 Works Cited .............................................................................................................. 233 5 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 6 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 7 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 8 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa 9 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa DEDICATION To my parents, Elva and Julio, who knew how to give me the advice and support, both emotional and economical, that I needed to overcome all obstacles and become the person I am, and culminate my studies and get a university degree. Also, to all my brothers, Paul, Diego, and John who gave me their support and comprehension. Ruth To my parents, Luis and Celia, for all the support and love given to me during the difficult and easy years of permanency in the university, and to whom I owe a life of dedication and love. Also I dedicate this thesis to every person in my family who helped and supported me, making this possible. And finally, to my thesis partner, Ruth, my everything. Diego 10 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We want to acknowledge Dr. Ion Youman, our thesis tutor, for being so kind as to give us his help and suggestions to improve our thesis, and also, his wife, Katherine Youman, for the support, advice, and recommendations for our work. Furthermore, we are also grateful to Guillermo Pacheco for helping us to design the thesis scheme. And finally, we want to show gratitude to all the professors of the Language and Literature School of the University of Cuenca, for sharing their knowledge and supporting us throughout the years we belonged to this prestigious institution. Thank You! 11 Ruth Auquilla / Diego Villa Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación Escuela de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa INTRODUCTION Many authors in America have reached, throughout history, a prestigious place in the literary world. In fact, some of them have been so great at writing that they are considered among the best storytellers in history. The recognition those amazing writers gained, in some cases, was not even intended for them to get. Only with a lot imagination and love for what they were doing, was that possible. Critics, even the severest ones, had nothing to do but surrender to the delight of the words expressed in every page of their masterpieces. A considerable part of those masterpieces that American literature possesses
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