Sažetak

This paper discusses the ways Raymond Carver depicts death in one of his most well-known short stories “A Small, Good Thing.” It deals with Carver’s minimalism as a literary device used to portray the communication (or lack of it) between the characters. The paper may be divided into three parts, showing the different stages of dealing with the protagonist Scotty’s death that his parents go through. The first part addresses denial, grief, and different ways in which people react to the death of a loved one. The second part elaborates on miscommunication as a leitmotif in Carver’s stories and shows the complete breakage of communication between the characters; namely between Scotty’s parents and the doctor, the baker, and the nurses, to name a few. The final part delves into the act of eating as a small, good gesture of kindness that brings people together and calms them down when a person dies. The end asserts that we constantly attempt to understand one another and, unfortunately, often fail to do so because of the unreliable and multi-faceted nature of language.; Ovaj rad analizira načine prihvaćanja smrti u jednoj od najpoznatijih pripovijedaka Raymonda Carvera „Mala dobra stvar“, s posebnim osvrtom na Carverov minimalizam kao književno sredstvo prikaza komunikacije (ili njezina nedostatka) među likovima. Rad se može podijeliti na tri dijela od kojih svaki prikazuje različite razine prihvaćanja smrti djeteta kroz koje prolaze Scottyjevi roditelji. Prvi se dio bavi poricanjem, tugom i drugim osjećajima kao reakcijama na smrt voljene osobe. Drugi dio analizira pogrešan način komunikacije kao lajtmotiv u Carverovim pripovijetkama te ga pronalazi u potpunom prekidu komunikacije među likovima pripovijetke – Scottyjevim roditeljima i liječnikom, pekarom, medicinskim sestrama i dr. Posljednji dio iščitava čin jedenja kao malu dobru gestu ljubaznosti koja povezuje ljude te ih smiruje kad voljena osoba umre. Rad završava zaključkom kako neprestano pokušavamo razumjeti jedni druge premda to nažalost često ne uspijevamo zbog nepouzdane i raznolike prirode jezika.