Raymond Carver's "A Small, Good Thing"

Discussion Questions

1.) How does Carver elicit the reader's sympathy for the characters in this story?

2.) How would you describe the baker? Why does he keep calling? How does your impression of him alter by the end of the story?

3.) How would you describe the doctor? Why does he talk so much?

4.) What was your reaction to learning of the boy's death, and why?

5.) What is the state of the relationship between the parents, and how is this shown? Who do they blame for their son's condition?

6.) What is the function of Franklin's family in the story?

7.) Why do the parents go to see the baker?

8.) What is the "small, good thing" referred to in the title?

9.) How does Scotty's death initially affect the parents? How do they manage to transcend their grief and find comfort?

10.) How does Carver use the idea of eating in the story? What does the sharing of the bread near the close of the story represent?

11.) Discuss whether you see "A Small, Good Thing" as a pessimistic or optimistic story.

12.) Carver is concerned with the ways in which human beings communicate or fail to communicate with each other and how that affects people's lives. Discuss how this concern is depicted in "A Small, Good Thing."