Comparing A Small Good Thing And The Bath By Raymond Carver

The short stories “A Small Good Thing” and “The Bath” written by Raymond Carver, both tell the same story of Scottie Weiss, a nearly eight-year-old boy getting ready for his birthday party, who was hit by a car. The following events are described incredibly differently from one another, and yet, both stories share the same information. “A Small Good Thing” utilizes its length to fully flesh out the world of Carver’s imagination, creating an emotionally heavy yet uplifting story that gives hope for the future, while “The Bath” describes a bleak and hopeless scenario in which the reader is left unsure as to what will happen to the characters. The biggest strength of “A Small Good Thing” is its length. The length of the story allows for Carver

In “A Small Good Thing,” the unknown boy begins to cry as the car stops to ensure that Scottie is okay, and after he stands up, the car drives off. As events unfold in “The Bath,” the unknown boy has no reaction at all to what he had just witnessed, his only response being the thought of whether he should finish his chips or walk the rest of the way to school alone. At the same time, the car continues onwards, never looking to see if Scottie is okay or even alive. These seemingly minor differences create a contrast in the feeling and tone of the following stories, themes which are felt through to the conclusion. In the case of “A Small Good Thing,” the empathy expressed by the unknown boy and the driver of the car gives a more human and grounded feeling to the story. Their response to the incident makes the rest of the story feel lighter and more hopeful than “The Bath,” despite both telling the same story. The driver checking to see if Scottie is okay before driving off allows for a moment of reprieve as the reader processes the previous events before experiencing the rest of the