Why Don't You Dance?

I recently checked out a collection of stories by Raymond Carver from the library. Carver is one of those writers who was required reading for me in high school but I has not re-entered my life until now. He has a distinct style using few words and creating characters that reflect his own life experiences. The characters i've encountered so far all seem peculiar.

In "Why Don't You Dance?" the story begins from a man's perspective as he sits drinking whiskey and staring at the furniture in his front yard. For whatever reason, the man has set up his furniture outdoors in a public setting and has even connected the tv to an electricity source indoors. We get very little information about who this man is or why he has decided to do this with his furniture. One can make assumptions about this man based on his actions but nothing definitive can be known about his life based on the story.

A boy and a girl stumble upon this man's furniture and are open-minded enough to interact with another person's belongings because they think it might be a yard sale. I was curious about the ages of the boy and girl because they are old enough to be furnishing an apartment but are still referred to as "the boy" and "the girl" for most of the story.

When the man shows up and finds the girl lying on his bed, no one seems surprised and the boy, girl, and man start haggling with each other. The story seems unrealistic due to a lack of emotion present in the characters. The strange  interactions between the characters made me even more curious about the setting and context of the story. Where do these characters live? Why do they seem so comfortable with each other? These are just a couple of my questions regarding this story.

After the boy and girl have purchased what they want, the man decides that its time for a drink. Once again, the boy and girl do not question what's happening and drink whiskey in this stranger's front yard. When everyone is adequately hammered, the boy and girl begin dancing in the driveway. Eventually the boy stumbles away and is replaced by the man, now dancing with the girl who is likely much younger than him. While this event doesn't seem inappropriate, the girl rests her head on the man's shoulder and the act of dancing itself is an intimate experience. The story ends on a strange note. Later on, the girl describes this experience to everyone she can. She wants to talk about it and feels like she her experience with the man was extraordinary in some way, yet she can't put her finger on what makes it that way. The ending makes me think that something must have happened between the man and the woman in the story that wasn't revealed by the narrator.

This is only one of several Carver stories I have read so far and will post another recap of my favorite story in the collection. Despite the weirdness of "Why Don't You Dance?" I recommend it mainly because of Carver's reputation as a master of short fiction. The story can be found here: http://typistspen.com/why-dont-you-dance-raymond-carver/

If you have time, read it and let me know what you think of it. I'd love to hear some other reactions to this story possibly as a comment to this post. See you tomorrow.

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