Thursday, February 12, 2015

What are similarities and differences between the themes in the stories, "A Small Good Thing" and "Raymond's Run?"

In "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara, and "A Small,
Good Thing" by Raymond Carver, the themes may reflect some similarities, though the
stories are very different.


In "Raymond's Run," Raymond has
mental limitations, and his sister Squeaky (actually Hazel) spends a great deal of time
running to get ready for a race—but also must watch out for her brother who cannot be
left alone. Squeaky is concerned with beating Gretchen—her one real source of
competition. However, as Squeaky runs and wins the race, she notices her brother running
along side the track, and realizes that he is a better run than
she is. From that moment, she promises to teach her brother to run
so he can enjoy the pleasure it brings her, and she also plans that
she and Gretchen will become partners in this—and that they can put away their
competition for the good of Raymond.


In "A Small, Good
Thing," the story opens as the mother orders a birthday cake for her son for the
following Monday. However, when Monday arrives, Scotty is distracted and wanders into
the street, where he is hit by a car. Although he at first seems just a little wobbly on
his feet, when he is placed into the hospital, he starts to sleep and his parents worry
about why he doesn't wake. The doctors are initially sure he will be fine, but when he
does not improve, the parents and hospital staff begin to worry. Meantime, as each
parent makes one trip home to walk the dog and get cleaned up, there is a caller on the
phone, asking if they have "forgotten" their son. The first call alerts the reader that
perhaps it is the baker calling about the forgotten cake—he doesn't not know about the
boy's accident. The father and mother are so distraught that they can't figure out what
the calls mean.


They return to the hospital, and in one
last moment, Scotty awakens, looks at his parents, howls loudly, and stops breathing.
The boy has died and the parents are beside themselves. They find it difficult to
function or even go home. The phone call comes again about Scotty; and finally, when the
parents have hung up again, the mother knows it's the baker, so they go to the bakery to
face him.


At first the mother is threatening him, perhaps
allowing her pain and anger to take over—she wants to punish the baker, not just for
harassing them about the cake, but for their son's death (though he is in
no way responsible). The emptiness of
the baker's life and the loss of Scotty's parents bring them together and they begin to
eat baked goods the baker has just made, and drink coffee. This small gesture unites
these three people in a way where the small thing may be the baker's concern or his
ability to calm their hearts with food that they need, and/or his words of camaraderie
and support. Either way...


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They talked on into the early morning, the high,
pale cast of light in the windows, and they did not think of
leaving.



Whereas the mother
had felt the baker at first unfriendly, now she sees that he has his own pain, and their
shared concerns allow them to connect with another who has known
heartache.


In "Raymond's Run," Squeaky wants to be of help
to her brother, and Gretchen and she form an unlikely alliance to help Raymond. In the
second story, the baker (an unlikely friend) also sees the need of the parents and joins
with them to make a difference in their
lives.


This is the theme of the story: that unlikely people
can find a common purpose in helping others, and find peace in doing
so.

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