Active Reading, One Point "O"

Where I’m Calling From

When I first read this story, I thought it was very boring and unappealing. It seemed to me that the characters, besides being recovering alcoholics, didn’t have any interesting qualities. Looking back upon my original thoughts, I discovered that I was a little bit mistaken. The little hints that Carver gives us are really the basic description of each character. “J.P has a case of the shakes.” (Pg. 136) This quotation refers to an involuntary reaction an alcoholic has when he has been drinking. We see that J.P suffers from these shakes in various occasions, showing that he’s having a tough time getting over his addiction.

As for the main character, he too suffers from an addiction to alcohol. Apparently he doesn’t recognize his problem. “But I didn’t know if they could help me or not. Part of me wanted help. But there was another part.” (Pg. 138) We observe that he is in denial and doesn’t look like he wants help.

Still, this isn’t what I found interesting about this particular part of the story. “M Y wife bought me up here the first time… This time around, it was my girlfriend who drove me here.” (Pg. 138) The fact that his wife took him to rehab first and that his girlfriend took him the next time, made me think that his addiction caused the dissolution of his marriage. Maybe he didn’t get divorced, his girlfriend could have been his mistress.

Regarding all the little hints Carver gives us, I think that his writing isn’t based upon first impressions. One has to be very attentive to these clues in order to appreciate this form of writing. Frankly, I think that it’s confusing and tiring. I’d like to be better at active reading where I will value this kind of story. So far, it has been somewhat of an annoying process.