Fat

Reflecting the Kmart Realism movement, Raymond Carver’s short story “Fat” narrates an interaction between a waitress and an apparently obese customer. Carver utilizes a minimalist structure within the short story as a ploy to withhold information and any clear didactic conclusion. This avoidance parallels the narrator’s self-conscious refusal to delve into any deeper implications of the interactions as she retells the story to her friend Rita. This disconnect continues with her partner Rudy.

Throughout “Fat,” the narrator’s seemingly closest interpersonal connections disintegrate. Instead, the narrator finds connection and importance in the rapport with her fat customer who allows her to understand “he can’t help it” (14), and later that “there is no choice” (16). Carver creates a visual loss of control in the fat man’s mechanical, detailed actions while eating. Carver parallels this mechanized behavior as the narrator describes her routine life at home with Rudy. Like the fat customer, the narrator exists trapped inside her life. However, in the last sentence she reveals that her “life is going to change,” and that she “can feel it” (16) - seemingly indicating that she will soon assert control over her life and change the outcome.

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