Mathias Keller

Minimalism in Raymond Carver's Collectors Mathias Keller

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, http://www.uni-jena.de/ (Institute for English/ Amererican Studies), course: Hauptseminar, 21 entries in the bibliography, language: English, comment: Extensive Analysis of blanks (Leerstellen) and their function in R. Carver's short story "Collectors" . , abstract: In the seemingly simple low-rent tragedy "Collectors", Carver's most minimalistic story, a salesman for vacuum cleaners enters the house and life of the I-narrator. A multitude of blanks and, moreover, unfamiliar events and actions contribute to a large extend to the high potential of anxiety of the story. In the following, I will first reveal the most significant blanks concerning the setting, the point of view and the two protagonists. By doing so, I will also attempt to fill them. Secondly, I will analyze what is unfamiliar in the story and how events and actions of the two characters amplify the, on the whole, uncanny situation. Finally, I will sum up the main findings of my analysis and evaluate them.